Murphy's Law
by Rogue Force
Summary: A simple recon mission goes horribly wrong and tests the resolve of the Rogue Force team
1. Default Chapter

Once again, 

Once again, we don't own these characters, Hasbro does, except for Sniper Wolf, who's a product of Konami, and for CIA agent Scott Wolfe, who's a Josh M. original, be he evil or not. This would be our longest collaborative effort to date, taking place directly after the Battle of the Armory. Please Read and Review. 

MURPHY'S LAW 

Hawk grinded his eyes and ran a hand through his hair before the next team to take part in Operation Wraith entered. They looked rough. Each of them had been through the A10 defensive action together. That was part of the reason Hawk had assembled them, they had worked well as a team under pressure. Hotseat, Repeater, Ripcord, Covergirl, Zap, Fastdraw, and Heavy Metal. Also between them, they had nearly all angles covered. Taking a last look at their battle hardened faces Hawk spoke up. "Okay people, I'm sending you on a recon mission into the Brazilian Amazon. Your mission is to scout out a factory that is a part of Cobra's MARS weapons production infrastructure. This mission will involve a great deal of speed and stealth, as they are essential to the mission's success. However since this is the main complex in the MARS system you'll be more heavily armed than a standard scouting mission in the event something goes wrong." Hawk dimmed the lights in the small briefing room as a map of a jungle was cast on the wall. "Immediately following this briefing you'll gather your gear and report to the helipad to a waiting UH-60 that will take you to Pope AFB. At Pope you'll board a C-5 which will contain two VAMP Mark Ones and one VAMP Mark Two. The C-5 will then fly to the Amazon, where 140 miles out from the target area you and the vehicles will do a low altitude static line drop into this clearing. You after you make the jump you'll board the vehicles and drive to the target location. Once there you'll observe the factory until HQ radios you to pull out. Then you'll drive to this clearing and await pick up by three Army CH-47 helicopters." Hawk raised the lights and cut the projector. In a way Hawk was relieved that this would by the last time he had to say it. This line had haunted him throughout every briefing he'd conducted that morning. "Due to the covert nature of this operation you won't have access to any kind of support." No one reacted. All of them, especially Ripcord and Covergirl were beginning to think that no support was SOP for the unit. "Dismissed." Hawk said, causing the group file out, leaving the General alone in the small briefing room. He rubbed his brow and sighed, "Now we wait." 

She leaned her head back against the reverberating metal of the Blackhawk's hull until her teeth ached, then sat up to take inventory of her 'team.' On her right was Ripcord last minute checking some gear, his usual confident self. To her left, Fast Draw. Even above the din of the chopper blades she could almost hear him cracking his neck, a gesture he performed sporadically. He threw an elbow her way every now and again, going on about how he was looking forward to getting back into battle. 

"These snakes, they ain't gonna know, you hear me? They ain't gonna know what hit them.. BAM, Fast Draw" She felt like he was getting more obnoxious as the flight went on, but chalked it up to nervous anticipation. Directly across from her was Hotseat, the NCOIC. He busied himself with some light maps, looking up from time to time to give his team the once over, almost if he were sizing them up. To his left, sat Heavy Metal. She smiled in his direction. A Tankerone of her own. He didn't return the smile, but shifted nervously in his seat, causing her to gaze towards Zap. He held fast to a small photograph, giving it a quick kiss before noticing her stare. 

He smiled warmly, handing her the picture, saying "Mi Familia" My family. Two dark haired little girls, three she figured, maybe one was four, tops, stared back at her, their hair pulled back neatly into two perfect braids. They stood on the steps of what looked like a brownstone apartment building, next to a woman she assumed was Zap's wife. Pretty. Covergirl thought, long brown hair and eyes, and still a cute figure even after 1, 2 3 kids. In her arms she held a baby wrapped in a blue blanket. "This picture is kind of old." Zap explained. "Emmy, she's now almost six. My little Rose, she's five. And my boy, Rafael, R.J. for short, he's going to be three. That's Maria, mi amore" He stared forlorn at the photo in her hand for a split second. "We'll be married for seven years this June." She smiled, handing the photo back, noticing for the first time the warmth in his brown eyes. Away from the others, the only one in the front facing forward bench of the Blackhawk sat Repeater, like a statue, stoic. Looking at no one, talking to no one, in fact, she hadn't recalled hearing him speak at all, not back in the woods, not back on base. Was almost eerie. She shuddered slightly, letting her eyes fall back on Ripcord. The one person there she knew she could count on. She gave him a quick wink before leaning her head back against the hull as the chopper touched ground at their home away from home as of late, Pope AFB. 

As the regular Army UH-60 touched down on the tarmac of a hangar apron, the view out of the windows of the Blackhawk was dominated by the sight of the massive C-5 Galaxy air transport that was warming up near by. A USAF Security Forces Airman jogged up to helicopter and slid the cabin door open. 

"Dismount people." Hotseat said as soon as the door was open. With that the group began to pile out of the helicopter. After stepping away from the Blackhawk, Hotseat waved the others over to where he was standing. Raising his voice in order for it to carry over the engine sounds of both the Blackhawk and the Galaxy, he outlined the specifics of the mission. "Okay people, here's the plan once we're in the operational area. For the most part we'll be traveling through the rain forest with the VAMPs in a single column. I'll be on point in one of the Mark Ones with Repeater as my gunner. Next will be Covergirl in the Mark Two. Finally we'll have Heavy Metal bringing up the rear with Fastdraw as his gunner. Ripcord and Zap, the two of you just jump into one of the VAMPs' passenger seats. Once we're roughly ten miles from the target, we'll dismount and hide the vehicles before proceeding on foot. Once we find the complex we dig in, cover up, and observe. Stealth is word of the mission. Think twice before you engage. Act accordingly, don't do anything stupid that'll blow our positions. Also I don't know how long it'll be until we're recalled so take it easy on food and water. After what we have with us is used up, we'll have to use whatever we can find for a substitute." Hotseat almost didn't want to say what he had to next. He knew what his next orders usually entailed. A suicide mission. Despite his misgivings he didn't hesitate, the NCO wasn't supposed to be scared. "Also, right now I need everybody to take off jewelry, personal items, wallets, and I.D. tags." This earned Hotseat several looks ranging from indifference, to reluctance, to fear. "C'mon people give 'em up, it's just standard procedure for a covert op. It's not like this is a suicide mission or anything." With that said, a few people started to slowly put their personal effects into an empty gasmask bag that Hotseat was holding open. As the last item was put into the bag, Hotseat snapped the buttons on it shut and jerked his thumb towards the C-5 which was just loading the final VAMP into it's cargo bay. As the others started to walk towards the C-5 Hotseat looked at Ripcord "Hold up a second Ripcord, I need to speak with you." Hotseat waited until the others were out of earshot before he spoke, "Alright kid, here's the deal, you're the best jumper I've got, so the second we hit that plane it's your show." 

"Roger that." Ripcord said with a nod. Hotseat nodded in return and handed the gasmask bag to a USAF Security Forces Airman and the two jogged off to catch up to the others on board the C-5. 

Once the plane had taken off and began to cruise towards its destination, Ripcord had suggested everyone get some sleep. Only Zap and Hotseat listened. He didn't follow his own advice because he had made it a point to check out all the chutes personally. He hated low altitude static line jumps. On the personal side they didn't give him the same thrill as HALO; no freefall and the plane pulls the cord for you. Not his idea of excitement. On the professional side with this many inexperienced jumpers it didn't give them much time if something went wrong and if he had to go after them he'd have to cut his main first, leaving him with only his reserve. Then of course there was the other issue that made him transfer from a standard airborne detachment to a HALO detachment when he was in the 82nd. You were a slow moving target that couldn't hide or run once that chute deployed. Ripcord pushed the thought to back of his head and moved on to check the chutes on the Mk.II. As he approached it he saw Covergirl sitting alone in the driver's seat. He walked around to the passenger side and just stared at her for a long moment. She seemed to be engrossed in memorizing the locations of the controls but he could tell that her mind was elsewhere, she'd been that way for a while. He knew that the A10 defense had gotten to her, he couldn't do much about that, but there was something else. His mind flashed back to a few days ago, she had said something about the roof just before they hugged. That he could do something to fix. He slid into the seat beside her and touched her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. As she turned around and gave him a quizzical look he spoke, "I don't blame you leaving in England. It was my call. And even if I had blamed you," he smiled warmly "I would've forgiven you long ago." 

"It doesn't make it right, I mean, I know what they drilled into you in basic, but I was supposed to be your backup." She said as she let her hands drop into her lap but kept her eyes downplayed. 

"You are my backup," Ripcord said as he gently lifted her head up, forcing her to make eye contact, "I'm still alive, you didn't fail." 

"I know," She started with a sigh, attempting to look past him and not at him, "Still, I just wanted to tell you," She started to stumble over her words slightly as she continued, "I'm sorry." 

"Don't be." Ripcord said as a warm smile crossed his face. 

"Thanks, Skyboy." She said as his smile and soft tone caused her to look him in the eyes, which lead to a half-smile of her own. Ripcord nodded and gave her a pat on her leg, just above the knee, as he slid out of the Mk.II and continued to check its parachutes. He continued to on the next VAMP, looking up and noticing Heavy Metal emptying his LC-2 ruck on the floor of the aircraft and began to check its contents. Ripcord continued looking up on occasion, seeing him inspect and re-inspect every item. Each time the man had a worried look on this face. The A10 complex mission had hit him hard. He seemed to be getting worse with every passing day. It must have awakened him to his own mortality, Ripcord figured as he shook his head at the sight and walked around to the front of the VAMP. Repeater was sitting on the floor with his M-60 disassembled, each piece spread carefully out over his poncho. The man was very methodically and carefully cleaning each piece. Unlike Heavy Metal, Repeater's face was the stoic mask the man had worn each time Ripcord had seen him. Ripcord just couldn't figure the big Ranger machine gunner out. Not matter what was going on the man always looked fine. Ripcord had only heard him talk twice, once a short report, another a simple 'Amen'. Ripcord approached Repeater and took a knee beside the man. Even as Ripcord spoke the machine gunner didn't look up. 

"Repeater, since you're the only person I've got here that has real jump experience, you'll be the first one out, I'm taking high man in case something goes wrong." Ripcord said wondering if Repeater had even heard him, he simply nodded. "Thanks." Ripcord said as he got up and headed towards the back of the plane. As he passed the Mk.II he saw Covergirl still sitting inside while Fastdraw stood out the passenger side. 

"Don't worry babe. Once we hit the ground. It is so on." He boasted as his pointed his M-1911 at imaginary Vipers, and making gunshot noises. "They can run. They can hide. But it ain't gonna matter." He continued as he started pulling the pistol in and out of its holster like an old west gunslinger. "And that's a fact." Ripcord shook his head at the sight. If Fastdraw didn't turn out be as good as he made himself out to be, Ripcord had already decided to personally kick his ass after the mission. Ripcord continued past the Mk.II, and laid down on a section of the web seating. In spite of the drone of the C-5's engines and Fastdraw's boasting, Ripcord drifted off to sleep. 

Ripcord awoke to the high pitched beeping of the alarm on his wrist watch. Hitting a button to stop it, he slowly shifted to sitting position and rubbed his face, trying to clear his head. They were an hour out. It was time to get started. He had rounded everyone up and took them towards the back of the plane. Time to get it on, "All right, this is how the jump is gonna go," Ripcord started quoting his DIs from Benning almost to the letter. "You're only gonna have your BDUs, kevlar, and your personal radio on. Everything else ALICE gear, LC-2, and flak jacket all goes in this bag. You will however have your knife where you can reach it easily and your weapon will be strapped your chest." Ripcord reached into his pocket and withdrew out several condoms and rubber bands and handed them out to the group. A few gave him a strange looks before he continued, "Put the condom on the muzzle of your weapon, secure it with the rubber band. It'll keep dirt out of the barrel if you fuck up your landing. Also since this is a jungle environment you may wanna keep it on after you land. It'll keep water out of the weapon. Don't worry, the latex will burn up when you fire the weapon and won't effect the bullet. Since we're going into a possible hot DZ you'll need to have a magazine in your weapon but don't charge it and have it on safe. Make sure you take some hundred-mile-an-hour tape and secure the magazine to the weapon." Ripcord looked around, making sure everyone understood before moving on. "When you exit the aircraft pull you knees to your chest and put your chin to your chest. Your arms will wrapped around your equipment bag which you'll hold to your chest. Once your chute opens you'll let go of the bag, which will then hang ten feet below you, attached by this tether, your hands will then move to take hold of the risers. If your main doesn't open when you exit the aircraft pull this black handle, if that doesn't work, radio me. When you land, bend your knees then fall back backwards onto your butt before roll to one side. Your chutes have been prepped. Once you line up, you'll only need to attach this hook, to this cord." Ripcord then went through telling people what order they'd jump in, helping them get into their chute harnesses, answering questions. The group spent the rest of the time getting their gear ready, applying camouflage paint to faces and arms, Ripcord had to wrap torn BDU fabric around the bandages and plastic covering his left forearm. Then they sat down in silence, except for Fastdraw. After a while the two minute warning sounded. Ripcord ordered everyone to stand off the side as the USAF Loadmasters rolled the vehicles' platforms into place. The rear ramp slowly cranked open. Everyone immediately felt the blast of hot, humid air enter the plane. The group lined up in their order. Ripcord, last in line, the 'high man', waited patiently on the go signal. Ripcord started to hum 'Paint it Black' a habit he'd never been able to shake since he'd first started jumping. The go signal came. The Loadmasters rolled the three VAMPs out into the clearing below. The last one rolled off the ramp. Repeater jumped, the others followed. 

Covergirl's heart quickened when the large ramp of the C-5 opened, turning away with the sight of the VAMPs being pushed into the hazy sunshine. There was still something wrong about hurling yourself out of a moving aircraft, but sending out a defenseless 2 ton VAMP? That almost seemed worse. Repeater was first out, followed by Hotseat, and Zap. Fast Draw, Heavy Metal, Covergirl and Ripcord were to be last. 

"I signed on as a tanker, not a jumper!" Heavy Metal growled, loud enough for Covergirl to hear over the engines roar. 

"By the numbers!" She yelled back. "Your chute will automatically open, I'm right behind you! Knees and chin to chest!" She gave him a walk-in-the-park sign, then with a quick thumbs up added "You'll do fine!" He didn't look too reassured, she thought, but she didn't have time to dwell. Without warning, Fast Draw, next to be out, unhooked his static line, rehooking it behind Heavy Metal, who simply stood there dumbfounded. 

"Hey Babe, what say we" was the only words he got out. Ripcord seemed to react the split second he saw Fast Draw's hand reach up towards the line. 

"Dumb Motherfucker!" He shouted, unhooking himself and shoving Heavy Metal down the ramp. "Move Goddamnit!" He yelled again, this time pushing both Fast Draw and Covergirl out. She looked back to see him running off the ramp, pulling his own cord. If her heart were racing before, she was sure by now it had stopped. She pulled it together to remember what he'd said, knees and chin to chest, looking down was easier than looking back, seeing how far off course Ripcord seemed. She shook her head. 

"This is what he does." She told herself. "He'll be okay. He's a big boy," Once again repeating Big Ben's words. "He'll do just fine." She hit the ground with the others, forgetting about rolling up her chute, concentrating on finding Ripcord. She saw him last to the far west of where they had landed. They had fallen through a narrow clearing in the thick rain forest ceiling, but he was nowhere in sight. Seconds, maybe minutes passed as she fumbled with the chute pack, her fingers not cooperating. 

"What's up, Chica?" Zap asked, helping to unhook her chute harness. She didn't take her eyes from above, still no sign of him. 

"Ripcord's miss" She started saying, when she heard the swearing. 

"Son of a bitch!" She heard him curse. "Goddamnit, shit, motherfucker" Covergirl had to smile. No words could have been comforting than his swears, and there were plenty of them. She and Zap headed into the thick canopy, following the angry sounds. The arrived just as he finished his climb down, his parachute still suspended from trees near 100 ft. up. "Where is he?" He spit through gritted teeth, pushing past them roughly. He tore through the trees towards the intended landing zone, and found his mark. Fast Draw wore a sarcastic smirk, even as Ripcord grabbed at his BDU jacket. "You stupid Fuck!" Heavy Metal grabbed him before he could swing, and Zap stepped in front of him, both men holding back what looked like a raging bull. 

"Easy, easy buddy." Zap told him repeatedly, while Ripcord continued with his onslaught of colorful terms. Covergirl's blood pressure shot higher when she saw Fast Draw wasn't making the situation any better. 

"You want a piece of me, tough guy?" He chuckled, sending Ripcord into another fit of rage, making holding him even harder for Heavy Metal and Zap. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Repeater quietly still rolling his chute, and shaking his head slightly at the scene. 

"Hey! He's not worth it." Covergirl finally tried soothingly, as she stepped beside Zap. "C'mon, Ripcord, he's not worth it." His face seemed to soften for a brief second, as her eyes met his, the brief second being cut short by Fast Draw needing the last word. "Awwww C'mon Baby," he mocked, flexing a bicep. "You know you want this." Before she could make a comment back, rage covered Ripcords face once again. 

"Motherfucker." He started, but this time was interrupted by Hotseat. 

"HEY!" The NCOIC called out as Ripcord still tried to tear through Zap. "What the hell is going on?" 

"This stupid sonuvabitch just jeopardized the whole operation! Almost got himself and two others killed!" Fast Draw made a sarcastic 'Lighten up.' comment, visibly putting a bigger strain on Zap and Heavy Metal. Covergirl stepped to the side, not wanting to be in his path if he did make it through. 

"Stand down, Ripcord." Hotseat said sternly. Covergirl thought Ripcord looked almost shocked at the statement, like it caught him off guard. "You heard me! I said Stand down. Cool off!" After a second or two more of intense breathing, his body relaxed, though his intense eyes stayed focused on Fast Draw, who was busy again cracking his neck. Hotseat patted Ripcord on the shoulder, as Zap and Heavy Metal finally released their grips. "Now," He continued. "If the bell for last period finally rang, how about we stop acting like we're in high school, and remember we're on a recon mission, shall we? Ripcord's riding with me, Heavy Metal, Fast Draw, to your vehicle. Let's move it people." 


	2. Chapter 2

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER 2 

Ripcord walked back into the jungle. In with all his rage to get at Fastdraw he'd left his gear sitting at the base of the tree. As he unloaded his equipment, his actions were in calm, controlled movements. His emotions weren't. Fastdraw didn't know how close he'd come to death. Covergirl, Heavy Metal, and Fastdraw wouldn't have had a chance to survive a drop through the jungle canopy. Ripcord himself barely pulled it off himself, and that was only the product of knowing what to do after eight years of parachuting. Trying to cool off he held on to that thought, trying to keep his mind off of Fastdraw's stupidity. Eight years total jumping, two years were civilian, the remaining six years were military with four of those years as HALO. He'd seen guys before who had landed in trees and didn't know what to do. The impact would catch 'em off guard, the massive shock from the sudden stop breaking their necks. Ripcord glanced up at his empty harness, still suspended from branches almost a hundred feet high. The image came to mind of Covergirl hanging up there, her head flopped down at an awkward angle. Ripcord shuttered at the thought and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He decided to dwell on his equipment rather than his past in order to calm himself down, focusing in on every fine detail of his equipment. His weapon was the most important thing. He inspected the M-16A2, with everything seeming fine he removed the hundred-mile-an-hour tape that was holding the magazine into rifle. After that he charged the weapon then set it aside. He pulled his ballistic vest out of the bag and immediately put it on. They were in a combat zone. He'd calmed down enough to realize that now. Then after a quick inspection of it's contents he put on his ALICE gear next. He then withdrew the M-1911 out of it's position on his hip holster, loaded the weapon and charging it, but keeping the safety on. Next he withdrew the knife that hung upside down from the left strap of his combat suspenders, he visually inspected the edge then placed it back it's scabbard. Next he pulled his LC-2 out of the bag, then folded up the bag and put it in the LC-2. He pulled the LC-2 onto his back and picked up his M-16. The whole process had taken less than two minutes. During which he'd calmed down at some point. Good. He needed to worry about the mission right now, not Fastdraw. But once they where out of this, he was personally going to deal with the bastard, Hotseat or anyone else be damned. He let out a heavy exhale. "Game time." he said to himself just above a whisper. With that said his face went into its cold 'combat counterpart' as he jogged back towards where the clearing and the VAMPs were. As he came into the clearing he saw that the others had loaded up the VAMPs and driven them off of their drop platforms, lining the vehicles up in the column formation that they'd be traveling in. The drivers had started to inspect the vehicles for damage. Fastdraw was loading and charging the twin machine guns on the last VAMP and blew a kiss at Ripcord before breaking out into a fit of laughter. Ripcord ignored it. He'd get what was coming to him. Towards another edge of the clearing he saw Repeater and Zap dragging the wooden drop platforms and everyone's parachutes into the jungle. He slung his M-16 and headed in their direction. 

"Don't that let jackass get to you hombre." Zap said to Ripcord as the three carried the jump equipment into the jungle. 

"Motherfucker acts like he wants to get fragged." Ripcord retorted. 

"Can you at least hold it together for the rest of the mission?" Zap asked. Ripcord didn't respond. Once the three had dragged the equipment deep enough into the jungle they spread a camouflage net over it that was brought specifically for that task. As they headed back towards the waiting VAMPs a deep rolling clap of thunder was heard which was followed within seconds by a heavy down pour of rain that seemed to come from nowhere. 

"Welcome home." Repeater said, his voice barely above a whisper. Ripcord shot a look at Repeater but he acted like he hadn't said anything or that Ripcord wasn't even looking at him. Shaking off the thought of Repeater's cryptic comment Ripcord continued to run towards the clearing. As he and Repeater jogged past the rear VAMP, Zap jumped into its passenger side. 

"Hey that corncob fall outta your ass yet, Skyboy?" Fastdraw called out from his position on the back of the rear VAMP. Once again Ripcord ignored the comment. If he worried more about Fastdraw than the real threat he'd end up getting himself killed. As he and Repeater ran past the Mk.II Ripcord let his 'combat face' drop just long enough to shoot Covergirl a smile and a thumbs up. As they finally reached the lead VAMP Ripcord climbed into the passenger seat while Repeater jumped on to the back of the vehicle. As soon as Ripcord climbed in, Hotseat handed him a pair of binoculars. 

"Okay kid here's the deal. Since I gotta make sure that this thing doesn't wrap around a tree you're gonna be the eyes of this little weekend excursion. Keep your eyes on the horizon, if you see something call it out. Think you can handle that kid?" Hotseat said while keeping his eyes focused on the jungle ahead of the VAMP. 

"Roger that." Ripcord said with a nod. Hotseat then lead the VAMP column off into the jungle. 

Between the patter of the rain against the roof of the VAMP and the rumble of the big engine Ripcord found it hard to focus on the horizon. All the jumping around of the vehicle didn't help either. Plus without any plexiglass on the window frames of the vehicle no water was kept out either. It had been quiet. But then again they were only just 120 miles out, it'd be a bad sign if they hit patrols or resistance this far out. One of these days he would learn to stop thinking about bad things. "Got two STUNs coming our way." Ripcord said as he put down the binoculars and flipped the selector switch on his M-16 from safe to 3-round-burst. 

"Shit." Hotseat hissed as he jerked the wheel to the left and keyed his radio, "Everybody stop and disembark. Cover the VAMPs in the nets and get away from them. The column rolled to a stop and everyone piled out. Ripcord's adrenaline was peaking as he and Repeater pulled the camouflage netting over the VAMP. The squad then followed Hotseat as he ran and dived behind a fallen log, pointing his M-16 towards the approaching STUNs. The STUNs seemed to take forever. "Remember people," Hotseat said just loud enough one everyone to hear, "this is a covert op if they don't stop, we don't shoot." The STUNs seemed to be heading right for the group. Heavy Metal was getting visibly more shaky as the STUNs came nearer and nearer. In contrast Repeater looked as calm as if he was sitting in the mess hall, but he did keep his M-60 trained on the enemy vehicles. Fastdraw was sighting up on the Motorvipers, mimicking pulling the trigger and making barely audible gunshot noises. Zap crossed himself and said a quick prayer in Spanish. Ripcord shot a quick glance at Covergirl then returned his gaze to STUNs. The lead STUN came so close that the floor of the jungle shook under the huge wheels of the oversized ATV. The lead STUN passed right by without a second glance. There was a collective sigh of relief. Until the trailing STUN pulled to stop. It just sat there for a second. Everyone tensed up. "Not until I say people. Not until I say." Hotseat repeated just above his breath. The four Motorvipers hopped down from the STUN and began walking towards where the group was hidden. They each had a G-41 in their hands. The Motorvipers seemed to be talking about something on their helmet communicators. They then began to fan out and move forward. "Fuck, they're gonna find us if we stay." Hotseat said as he slid down behind the log. "Alright people fall back as they advance. Ripcord, Repeater, Fastdraw, Covergirl, pick one and shadow him. As soon as they lose visual on each other take 'em down swift and silent. Zap, Heavy Metal, you're with me, we're gonna spread wide then double back here to cut them off from the STUN. Move out." With that said the team slipped away into the jungle. 

Ripcord had almost literately stayed a few steps ahead of 'his' Motorviper. This was getting maddening. Ripcord had waited and waited, watching the light blue uniforms of the Motorvipers off to the sides. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the Motorvipers lost visual contact with each other. It was time. Ripcord eased prone behind a small fallen log. He was sweating bullets waiting on the Motorviper, he would only get one chance and it had to be fast. Finally the boot of the Motorviper appeared on top of the log. When the Motorviper's other foot moved to step over the log Ripcord reached out and jerked back on the Motorviper's ankle. He heard muffled yelp as the Motorviper fell forward, losing the grip on his rifle. Ripcord reacted before the enemy had hit the ground. He shot forward and flipped the dazed Motorviper over. He quickly closed his left hand around the man's neck, squeezing and pushing his weight down on the man's throat while his right knee pinned the man to the ground. He couldn't be allowed to scream. If he did then the team was as good as dead. In a swift motion Ripcord withdrew his knife and slammed it down. The thin plexiglass was no match for the reinforced steel. The blade slammed through the Motorviper's reflective faceplate. After a half-twist Ripcord pulled the blade back out. The threat was down. It was then after Ripcord started to come down from the adrenaline rush that he noticed some things. The blood and gore dripping from the knife's blade. The dark stain on the crotch of the Cobra's pants. The fact that he didn't struggle but rather had shook like a leaf under Ripcord's grip. Everyone before now had tried to kill Ripcord first. This was different. This was almost like murder. Ripcord shook his head clear of the disturbing thoughts and keyed his radio "Mine's down, returning to the VAMPs." With that said Ripcord took a last hard look at the shattered reflective face plate then jogged off in the direction of the VAMPs. 

She didn't have time to think, just drew a bead on the closest Viper she could. No weapons, Hotseat had said. Had to be a quick, silent kill. He hadn't looked that big from so far away, but as he drew closer... She shook her head to clear it of the negative thoughts, as she drew deeper into the jungle, further from the safety of the VAMPs. No weapons, no armor, but she did have a knife. "Us or them" she reminded herself. "Us or them." She clutched the bloody Cobra insignia in her pocket as a reminder, then grabbed the survival knife from her belt, crouching low. 'Let him pass me.' She thought. 'Just let him pass, I'll get him from the back.' It seemed cowardly, but then again, who said there were any rules when it came to killing someone? She'd stayed far enough a head of him to not be seen, but to let herself be traced, was hard not to be, every step you took sank deep into the marshy ground,. every branch, leaf, vine you touched left a mark. At least the heavy rains were providing some sort of cover, silencing the sounds of her running. She stayed ahead a few yards, then doubled back, clutching the knife white knuckled while she waited. 'One shot, one shot, one shot' echoed through her head. She had one shot to do this, even if it didn't mean a missile would be wasted. She held her breath as he took a step past, and reacted. The plan was to stab him hard in the kidney area, and take it from there, wasn't much, but at least it was a plan. Unfortunately, no one told the Viper. He turned just before she stabbed, her knife sinking deep into his abdomen, then being drawn upwards. Her mind flashed suddenly to the small cereal boxes she'd eat as a kid, they kind of opened the same way. Funny what you think about to keep your mind off of what you're doing. He fell backwards to the soft ground, she still on top of him, holding fast to the knife. What started as a low whimper grew louder, as she pulled the knife upwards towards his chest. Still flat on top of him, she threw an elbow into his throat. After two tries, her other hand pulled the knife from his chest cavity, not realizing how deep it had plunged. Tracing a line underneath her elbow, she slit the troopers throat, stopping the sounds all together. She held fast on top of him, elbow still to his chin, thrusting the knife back into his chest cavity, closer to his heart. It stopped midway, and she closed her eyes until the movement below her stopped. At least he was wearing a reflective face-plate. The only eyes she had seen were her own. 

"Nice Kill!" A call came out, causing her to look up. There stood Fast Draw, barely a drop of blood on him. "Was just seeing if you needed some help from your white knight here, but looks like the little damsel did just fine. Personally, I think the Columbian Necktie was a bit over the top, but then again, that's me." She shook her head in disgust as she used two hands to dislodge the knife. She cleaned the weapon on the Motorvipers wet clothes before standing up. 

"You know what you're problem is?" She asked, putting away the knife and heading back towards the VAMPs. 

"There's just not enough of me to go around? Don't worry, Fast Draw will always save a piece of himself for you, Babe. You can pick which piece you want." 

"Obnoxious fuck" 

"You know I love it when you talk dirty to me." She shook her head in disgust, not even being able to answer as she pushed past him. "Oh come on, Court. Just one kiss?" He mocked. 

They were the last two to arrive back at the VAMPs, Covergirl was happy to see everyone else safe. 

"Any problems?" Hotseat asked. She inadvertently shot a look in Fast Draw's direction, before catching herself. 

"No. No problems." 

"No problem at all." Fast Draw said, recanting how he killed the Snake he was tailing bare handed. "Two sounds. Me hitting him, him hitting the ground." She flashed Ripcord a quick 'you okay?' look. He nodded, then flashed the same look back, to which she nodded. She noticed Hotseat shoot a quizzical look towards Ripcord, before giving the order to remount. 

"Let's bring it together, people." He told them. "Keep `em in 4WD, doesn't look like this rain is going to let up." Covergirl's feet sank deeper in the mud, and she checked back to the MKII. 

"Gimme two." She asked the Sergeant, sight measuring the mud levels on the VAMPs compared to the MK II. Zap took a seat in the front, as she started letting half of the air out of the tires. "Better traction!" She called to him, seeing his puzzled look. "We got a quarter ton more weight then them, due to the missiles! 4WD will do nothing if we sink!" 

"I guess this is why they call it the rain forest, huh?" He shouted over the din. She was a little worried about the VAMP MkII, being as it was a little more sensitive, though she preferred the term temperamental, than the original, but even with a damp distributor, it turned over easily. She resisted the urge to talk to the 12 ponies under the hood, giving the dashboard a quick pat thanks before catching up with Hotseat, Repeater, and Ripcord. The trip through the jungle was long, long enough to make Covergirl's muscles ache from the strain of trying to keep the craft steady, maneuvering over the thick jungle floor. 

What little sunlight had been streaking through quickly faded to dusk, as Hotseat finally gave the hold up order, meaning they were near the target locale. She grimaced as she climbed out, lactic acid now building up, making even the step out painful. Her feet still reverberated from the vibration of the gas, break and clutch pedals, and even after a few good stretches she felt stiff. Even though the rain had let up a few miles back, a thick cloud of moisture hung in the air as Hotseat checked his maps. 

"Okay people.." he started, and Covergirl smiled. She wondered if he actually knew anyone's name. So far she's heard 'people' and 'kid' about a dozen times. "We're getting close. Get the VAMPs under cover, grab an MRE. then we're going to catch about 5 hours of sleep, watch rotations every hour, 2 people on. We'll break camp at 2300. Questions?" She noticed little cliques almost forming as they broke open the brown MRE packs. Her, Zap, Ripcord to one side. Fast Draw wisely choosing to eat with Hotseat and Heavy Metal, Repeater off to himself. He always seemed to be off by himself. 'Hotseat was right.' She thought to herself. This was just like high school. Barely able to keep her eyes open through 'dinner,' She was one of the first to sleep, with Heavy Metal and Repeater taking the watch. 

"Plenty of room over here by me, Babe." Fast Draw started commenting, patting the ground next to him, but Zap cut him off. "Unless of course, Skyboy was never taught to share." She hated the fact that he'd picked that up, something she tried to keep private, just between her and Ripcord. 

"Go easy, Compadre." She heard Zap saying. "I'm not taking sides, but you have to admit, there's been enough trouble for one day?" 

"Not my fault he goes and gets all uppity on me, have this talk with him, amigo." 

"I'm just saying is all. I was the one trying to hold him back, remember? You keep this up, I suggest you sleep with one eye open." She barely heard him finish the sentence, falling asleep the minute her head hit the tarp. She thought she could feel Ripcord's strong hand brush away a lock of hair sticking to the thick, black camo paint, but it might just have been a sweet dream. 


	3. Chapter 3

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW- CHAPTER THREE 

The patrol was going fine. Sure there was enemy activity in the area but so far the sweep was uneventful. Then it happened. Fuller, the point man hit a mine. Instantly gun fire filled the air, both AK-47s and M-16s. Baker, the grenadier was a veteran, but he hesitated for some reason. While the others hit the ground he had stood dumbfounded. Therien looked up to see Baker jerk violently as fountains of blood erupted from his chest. The man dropped like a puppet who's strings had been cut. Therien had to get his M-60 into play. He started to rake the enemy's positions with fire from the big machine gun. He saw Vasquez, the medic, run past him, trying to reach Baker. The doc dropped to his knees clutching his throat as the sickening spray of arterial bleeding coated the ground around him in blood. Therien developed tunnel vision on his weapon. His squad had already lost three men. He couldn't let any more soldiers be lost. He couldn't lose any more friends. He laid down a hellish field of fire on the enemy's positions. He glanced down at the ammo belt. Running low. "Parker get up here damnit!" Therien called for his feeder without looking back. No answer. Then came the terrifying sound of the bolt dry firing. Therien looked back to call for Parker again. The words caught in his throat. Blood and mangled bodies lay everywhere. He had been so engulfed in firing he hadn't noticed the sounds of the M-16s had stopped, just as he now didn't realize that the sounds of the AK-47s had stopped. Sarge? Vasquez? Baker? Chan? Fuller? Malloy? Rogers? Haney? Williams? No one. They were all dead. But he was alive. Not a scratch. Why? What had he done to be spared while everyone else lay dead? He screamed out into the jungle, "WHY?!?!?" 

Repeater shot up to a sitting position. Years of training were the only things that kept him from screaming out at the top of his lungs. Despite the humid heat of the jungle his felt his sweat covered body shiver. His breathing was shallow and fast. He closed his eyes tightly to shut out the images. It didn't help. The dreams were getting worse, more vivid now that he was back in the jungle again. He was remembering details that he hadn't remembered in years. "Repeater?" He heard a voice called out. Heavy Metal's voice. It used that as an anchor. This was his squad now. He was here to make sure it didn't happen to them. He couldn't protect them if he couldn't think straight. "Repeater, it's your shift." He heard Heavy Metal say again. Repeater nodded and stood. He took the M-16 from Heavy Metal, who then headed off towards his tarp. Repeater gave the weapon a once over, more on feel that sight as his eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness. With everything satisfactory he headed out towards the camp's perimeter. 

Hotseat would have a fit if he saw this, Zap thought as he looked down as the sight. Ripcord and Covergirl both lay on the same tarp. Ripcord was on his side, his body pressed against her back with his arm wrapped around her abdomen while her arm was on top of his, her hand wrapped around his hand. Zap shook his head. He really didn't know what to think of his two friends. On one hand they did seem to honestly care about each other. On the other they were United States military personnel and should act according. Zap shook his head again. It wasn't his place to decide. He almost wanted to leave the two laying there but Ripcord and Repeater were the last shift, the fifth one. Which meant that if he left them there, Hotseat would see it. Then they'd be hell to pay and the last thing this mission needed was more tension. Between Fastdraw's stunt on the drop and the business with the Motorvipers somebody on the mission was bound to snap at this point. Zap lightly kicked at Ripcord while calling out just above his breath. "Ripcord, it's your shift hombre." Zap said, careful not to get his voice too loud or his kicking to hard. The last thing Zap wanted to do in the jungle at night during a mission was startle a soldier. Especially one in Ripcord's mood. Ripcord slowly came around to Zap's rousing. 

"Oh shit..." He said in disbelief just under his breath as he noticed the way he was laying. He didn't remember laying down like this. He remembered having the second watch, coming back to wake Covergirl for the third watch, brushing aside a stray hair as he woke her. Then he fell asleep. He shook himself mentally. He could worry about that later, right now he need to worry about his watch. "I'm up." He said quietly to Zap, not wanting to wake Covergirl. Moving as slowly and carefully as possible he slipped away from Covergirl and stood. Zap gave him a pat on the shoulder as Ripcord took the M-16 from his friend. The guard duty was going as uneventful Ripcord had hoped. He and Repeater had just been walking perimeter in alternating orbits, stopping every so often to listen for sounds. Roughly half way through the guard rotation they heard something. Something walking through the underbrush. Ripcord immediately stopped and dropped to a knee next to the trunk of a large tree. Within seconds Repeater had joined him. As the sound got louder Repeater kept his M-16 on the horizon but whispered over to Ripcord. 

"Five men on foot. Combat equipment." Ripcord nodded to the big Ranger's comment. As the sounds of movement got closer and closer talking was heard as well. 

"Search eight, any sign of Patrol four yet?" 

"Uh, that's a negative H.Q." The patrol was getting closer and closer. Ripcord started to see the outline of five Vipers stomping their way through the jungle. He guessed that 'patrol four' was the STUN crew that they had taken out. Looks like somebody finally realized they were missing. Good thing Hotseat drove the STUN further off that it had originally been and had ordered that the bodies be hidden. Otherwise they might've found the STUN within hours and known there was an intruding force, instead of just having a missing vehicle. Ripcord pushed his guesses away as he focus on the moment. He began to sight up on the lead Viper, mentally repeating Hotseat's earlier words, 'Remember people, this is a covert op if they don't stop, we don't shoot.' The Vipers were apparently looking for trouble. The Cobras were getting closer and closer until they stopped just fifteen feet in front of where Ripcord and Repeater were hiding. 

"Search eight cut your patrol short we're not going to find a thing until daylight." 

"Roger that H.Q. search eight returning." 

"Thank god H.Q. finally realize we can't see dick out here." 

"I heard that, man why don't they just send out some Night Vipers or Croc Master and his bitches if they want those Motorvipers found." 

"No shit, somebody could be right in front of our face out we wouldn't know it." 

"The boogieman got 'em." 

"Oh come on you big pussy, you don't really believe those stupid stories that the natives spit out do ya?" 

"Have you ever seen a STUN vanish into thin air?" 

"They must've had a break down in their radio and gotten the STUN stuck somewhere, they'll turn up." 

"If you say so." As the Vipers finished up their conversation they turned around and headed back the way they came. Ripcord breathed a sigh of relief as the outline of the Vipers disappeared back into the jungle. Calming down from the near miss, Ripcord along with Repeater finished their guard duty then went back to camp to wake everyone up. While Ripcord explained what he saw to Hotseat, the others broke the camp down. Within minutes the team had melted back into the jungle, heading towards their target. 

The column of soldiers slid through the jungle like ghosts. Every now and then somebody would hear something, causing the team to stop and listen, then after the noise had passed, the team would keep moving. Overall everything was going fine. The team was walking along a path with a ten foot drop off to the right side which lead to the bank of a small stream below. Ripcord tried to stop it. Heavy Metal was walking along then suddenly he slipped on a wet log which sent him careening off the small drop. Ripcord shot forwarding in an attempt to catch the tanker but to no avail. The others all seemed to shoot towards the edge, trying to see if Heavy Metal was okay. Okay was a relative term. He had landed right in front of an equally stunned Viper. The eerie silence of the moment was shattered as the rattle of automatic weapons fire came from across the stream. Everybody hit the dirt. Ripcord could hear the sharp crack that came with near misses as he pointed his M-16 across the stream. Night combat was disorienting. The muzzle flashes ruined his 'night eyes' so he couldn't hope to see even the faintest outline of the Vipers. All he could do was wait till he saw a muzzle flash, but they'd see his in return. Ripcord lined up on a muzzle flash and squeezed the trigger three times. Immediately after the third round was fired he quickly rolled over to his right a few times. Staying put in night combat didn't have any advantages. The firefight felt like it was dragging on forever, mainly because Ripcord couldn't tell if he was even hitting anything. He just keep firing. Suddenly the weapons fire across the stream stopped. The whole thing had lasted only thirty seconds. Forms started to appear up from the jungle floor. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Someone was missing. Heavy Metal! Ripcord ran to the edge of the drop off. The tanker was still struggling with the Viper he'd fallen in front of. Immediately the team jumped down onto the soft sand of the stream's bank. Repeater clamped one of his huge hands down on the shoulder of the Viper and threw him up against the wall of the drop off and used his arm to pin the Viper there. 

"How many are you?!" Hotseat said grabbing hold of the Viper's chin and forcing the Cobra to look at him. 

"F...five....in..including me." Came the stuttered response from the lone Cobra. 

"Zap, Fastdraw, Heavy Metal, Covergirl come with me, we gotta make sure we got four bodies over there. Repeater, Ripcord, watch him." Hotseat said just before he took off across the stream towards where the Cobras' muzzle flashes were seen. 

"Search two, we heard some weapons fire what's your status." A voice came over the Viper's radio. This operation couldn't be compromised. With Repeater still holding the Viper to the dirt wall Ripcord took hold of the Viper's face plate and jerked back. The reflective surface broke free from the helmet with the sound of tearing fabric. It the same motion Ripcord drew out his M-1911 and pressed it to the Viper's forehead. The kid looked scared to death, he couldn't have been much older than eighteen with boyish features still dominant on his face. 

"Say everything's fine," Ripcord told the Viper, "Make it convincing and we'll let you live." 

"Uh, it's nothing, was just a jaguar. The jungle's just got us a little jumpy that's all." The Viper spoke as calmly as he could into his microphone. 

"Roger that, you're almost home, just stay on a two-one-six heading and you'll be and at the base in seven miles." The voice on the other end returned. As soon as the radio had cut off Ripcord squeezed the trigger on the pistol, turning his head as he did so. As he stood he noticed a few shocked looks from the team that had just emerged back from the jungle. 

"We're behind enemy lines and heading deeper. We can't take prisoners." Ripcord said in an even voice. Truth was he was just as disgusted with what he just did as his teammates were. The image of the kid's face exploding kept playing through his head despite the fact that he didn't even see the shot. Even if he was disgusted, he was right. They couldn't take prisoners. After a long moment Hotseat nodded. 

"Alright people, we've got 'em all so let's hide the bodies as best we can then move on. We're losin' darkness here." 

She watched his face as he pulled the trigger, Ripcord's. Something, pain, repulsion maybe flashed across the second before the Viper fell. After it was over, a sick feeling overcame her, almost like she had been punched in the stomach, and she looked away. 

"We're behind enemy lines and heading deeper. We can't take prisoners." He seemed so calm when he said it, too calm. Hotseat was the first to break the silence. 

"Alright people, we've got `em all, so let's hide the bodies as best we can then move on. We're losin' darkness here." The thick jungle floor made hiding a few more bodies easier, just as it had been back with the Motorvipers, but she didn't let herself dwell on it. She was still thinking about Ripcord. He was right, it had to be done, just like leaving him back in England. But it didn't mean it didn't sting. "You have point, kid." Hotseat said, laying a hand on Zap's shoulder. She was convinced more than ever that he knew no names. "You cover him." He tapped her back. "Single file, and try to keep alert, people. Watch where you're stepping." He stared at Heavy Metal adding the last part, but she couldn't see his reaction. Seven miles out, just a bit more than eleven klicks. The rain that had ended suddenly a few miles back was now back in full force, making the trek seem even longer. Thick soled boots sank deep into the mud and debris, once and again feeling something slither or scurry beneath them. She ran the back of her hand across her rain soaked forehead and had to laugh. Some of her old friends would have near cried if they were trapped outside in a light drizzle. Three klicks down, the M-16 seeming to get heavier. She chalked it up to the drive yesterday. The entire distance traveled was spent white knuckled, fighting to keep the 2.5 ton vehicle steady. Still, she held fast, stayed alert. She'd let her guard down once, and was making sure it wouldn't happen again. Zap held a single arm up, making a fist, a hold up gesture which she repeated down the line. She dropped to one knee, scanning the darkness and straining her ears to hear. Zap took one step forward, then disappeared from sight with a startled yelp. 

"Fuck!" She cursed, fast low crawling to the area where she'd last seen him. His hands grasped at one of the millions of thick vines they'd been climbing over, hanging in some sort of large ditch. She heard him saying something in Spanish, not sure if it were cursing or praying. She wrapped an ankle around one of the vines herself, then grabbed onto his wrist. "Hang on, Zap, buddy, just hang on." She couldn't pull himself up herself, but she didn't need to. A split second later, Fast Draw was there, followed closely by Ripcord, who shot like a rocket when he heard the disturbance. The two men eased Zap up, helping to steady himself on his feet. Repeater, Heavy Metal and Hotseat were the last to arrive. Shining a light towards the bottom of the man-made pit, they could see the sharpened sticks which had threatened to impale their teammate. Zap crossed himself, Ripcord swore, and she thought she saw Repeater's eyes wide for a split second, before making a tight enough fist to crack his knuckles. She half wanted to ask him if he was alright as he stormed past the team, taking his place in the rear and scanning the woods almost frantically. 

"Shows over." Hotseat said after a long pause, putting his hand on top of Zap's head, shaking it slightly. "Fast Draw, you got point. Heavy Metal, cover. Stay on your toes, looks like the end of the welcome mat." Even Fast Draw seemed sobered by what almost happened, not making any wise cracks, not making any references to him being first or making ridiculous 'bang, bang, BAM, Fast Draw' remarks as he took point. 

Six klicks down. The trek was taking even longer now, the area ahead being carefully scouted for explosives or other traps. Fast Draw had found a few more man-made pitfalls, the rest of the team on high alert. Hotseat gave the call to take a five minute breather before the start of the seventh click. Ripcord stood off by himself, mopping some of his rain soaked brow with the back of his glove. She checked the area first, making sure they were alone enough that she could talk to him, making sure especially Fast Draw wasn't lurking. "You were right." She said, above the sound of the pouring rain. He shot her a questioning look. "The Viper. It had to be done." He looked away quickly. "I'm sorry you had to do it." She brought his chin up to see her eyes, staring into them for a quick second, reading him. "I know you are, too." He didn't answer, but just gave a small nod of his head. Four klicks to go. Ripcord's turn at point. She hated that. Hated even more that she wasn't the one to cover, Hotseat gave Zap his back. Half way through, the fourth 'hold up' sign was given, and she dropped. Up until now it had been false alarms, but with each time her heart stopped, seeing Ripcord dangling instead of Zap, seeing them not make it in time. 'He's a big boy, Lass,' had worn thin about two hold's up ago. He crawled back to Hotseat. 

"We got tripwires ahead, maybe scattered land mines, too." She heard him say, and she cursed. This is not good. She'd picked the expression up from her grandfather years before, who used it for everything from kitchen fires to car accidents. 'Not good, not good, not good Oh, this is not good.' He used it to keep himself calm in any situation, she was hoping it would work for her as well. Hotseat called the team around. They formed a tight circle except for Repeater, who stood fierce watch behind them, still scanning the woods. He unrolled one of his maps, studying it for a second before speaking. 

"Things are going to get interesting." He told them. "We got mines up ahead, who knows for how long." He took a deep breath. "Ripcord and Zap are gonna mark them off, clear a path. It'll be slow going, but this is the only way through. Be careful, people." Patting Ripcord on the back he added.. "Take it slow, kid." Her heart sank. Why? Why Ripcord? She realized the selfishness of the thought, she wouldn't have wanted any of the other team to go first either, but especially not him. Ripcord nodded, making eye contact with her for a split second, but not offering a reassuring sign that she could see. 

They started out sporadic, then became closer and closer together as the distance wore on. Nine klicks down, Ripcord still at the point. The rest of the team carefully followed his meticulous path, Ripcord, Zap, Fast Draw, Hotseat, Her, Heavy Metal, then Repeater. Each wire clearly marked. She shook her head. Skyboy was good. The marks became more sporadic again, almost to clearing. She knew better than to breathe a sigh of relief. Not yet. She saw the others far ahead start into a slow, careful walk, Ripcord still at point, still searching for signs of the occasional explosive. 

"Oh, God." From behind her. Heavy Metal. She closed her eyes for a second. Looking back, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. She back tracked the few steps to where he was standing like a statue. "I hit something. I heard a click." He hissed through clenched teeth. 

"Hold on, hold on, don't move..." She told him, signing out of habit while saying the words. Taking out her flashlight, she heard nothing except her heart beat as she dropped to her stomach, trying to examine under Heavy Metal's large boot. She let out a small laugh. "You stepped on a rock." She said smiling. "It's just a rock." Repeater had just caught up to them as she grabbed it from underneath his boot, holding it up for him. She let out another short laugh, relieved. 

"Sonuvabitch" He cursed, his eyes returning to their normal size. He grabbed the rock from her hand. 

"NO, DON'T!" She started, but it was too late. Fear made him careless, not think. He angrily threw the rock in the direction they had just come from. Before she could react further, Repeater had the two of them down. He pushed them as forward as far as he could before the explosions started, then lay on top of the two, each hand protectively covering the head's of his two teammates. One, two, three four mines off. She closed her eyes and waited for more. Dirt and plants rained down on them. Five mines now. She held her breath. Six. She thought she felt Repeater wince, but wasn't sure. His strong hand didn't let up until the last explosion echoed in the distance. When he knew it was safe, he let up, groaning as he stood. Covergirl rolled off to one side, finally remembering to breathe, but Repeater was up in a second, grabbing Heavy Metal by the collar. The large man yanked her other teammate literally off his feet, slamming his back into a tree, but still keeping him suspended. Even though she wasn't too thrilled with Heavy Metal herself at that point, the sheer size and strength alone of Repeater almost scared her. "It was an accident!" She told him, protectively. "He didn't mean it." She put a hand on the back of his shoulder, he reacted the same as if she'd touched him with a lit match. The force of him shrugging her off caught her off guard. Still holding Heavy Metal up with one hand, his other shot out to catch her from falling backwards, dumbfounding her with his sheer strength. He let her go once she was steadied, putting both his hands back on Heavy Metal, who was looking like a deer trapped in the headlights. Slamming him back into the tree once more, he dropped him, then sulked off to retrieve his weapon. She thought through the darkness she could see a slight limp, but wasn't sure. So much for being covert. 


	4. Chapter 4

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER FOUR 

Croc Master was not pleased. He'd already lost a STUN and nine men. Of course the losses didn't brother him. Men and material could be replaced, but he was furious at the fact that some dared to intrude into his jungle. He glanced around the control room, seeing various feeds of data and video scroll across the numerous monitors manned by his Televipers. He'd personally taken charge of the control room after Patrol Four and Search Two had gone off the air. The closer the intruders got to the MARS factory the more difficult life would become for them. He'd already ordered his personal team of Range Vipers and two transport helicopters on standby. As soon as the slightest sign of these intruders showed up he would personally destroy them. They wanted to have his jungle? Fine, they could rot in it. 

"Sir, we've just had a series of six of our mines detonate in Sector 41-B." A Televiper reported as he stared at a series of alerts that had suddenly shown up on his monitor. 

"Excellent." Croc Master said as he headed towards the door. Cobra Commander had called him paranoid when he and his Range Vipers had personally seen to setting the traps and attaching special sensors to them. "Well Commander, it looks like my 'paranoia' has born fruit. I told you no one would survive my jungle, even if I have to deal with them myself." Croc Master said as under his breath as he headed towards the helipad. 

Explosions. Behind him. His team. Covergirl! Ripcord shot to his feet and began to run towards where his team was. He stopped himself before he took the first step. He remembered a speech on fear given by a General Schwarzkopf during one of the 82nd's pass-in-reviews, telling a story about soldiers in a minefield panicking. That was the last thing they needed to do. "Everybody stay still!" He yelled over the radio, "Status?" 

"Check. We're okay." Came the voice of Covergirl over the radio. 

"Okay here too." Zap came in. 

"Me and Fastdraw are fine." Hotseat said before continuing, "What the hell just happened?" 

"Land mine got tripped." Came back Covergirl's response. There was the click of someone's radio starting to transmit but it never finished. The thin stretched column immediately went silent as the steady beat of rotor blades was heard. Everyone tensed up as the sounds kept getting louder. Ripcord looked up into the dense canopy, as a large shadow blotted out the light starting to appear from the rising sun. Ripcord saw the leaves in the canopy above whipping back and forth. The chopper had to be right above them. 'Don't move,' he told himself in his mind, 'the canopy is too thick, we're to well camouflaged. They can't see us. Don't move.' Suddenly ropes burst through the leaves, landing on the forest floor with a dull thud. Ripcord wanted to yell 'scatter' at the top of his lungs. He couldn't. That would just get people killed for sure. He dropped to a knee and sighted up to where the ropes disappeared into the canopy. He took stock. 11 ropes. 11 people. They had to be quick about this. Suddenly the sound of heavy gun fire broke into the air. A hailstorm of bullets ripped through the canopy and tore into the ground around them. Ripcord fought the urge to dive away. His grip on the rifle was white knuckled under his gloves. He could only wait as dirt was kicked up around him. Focus on the ropes. Focus on the ropes. Suddenly after what felt like a lifetime, a pair of legs burst through the canopy. He didn't hesitate. Three quick squeezes of the trigger. The man on the rope he had drawn a bead on jerked violently then a scream was heard as his repel turned into a eighty foot freefall. The canopy erupted with fire. They didn't want to share the fate of their comrade. Figures appeared sliding down the ten remaining ropes. Nine Range Vipers in uniforms with an alligator pattern on them along with a man in black pants and the same alligator pattern on his sleeveless shirt and boots. All of them were firing Bizon-2 submachine guns at the ground below. Ripcord's mind screamed for him to dive for cover. He couldn't, he could only return fire. He grabbed hold of one of the ropes that had fallen almost on top of him and jerked it violently towards another rope. The Range Viper on the rope was ready. He held onto the rope with all this might. His partner wasn't. The first Range Viper collided with his teammate who was busy trying to sight up on one of the Joes. The engrossed Range Viper lost his grip on the rope, sending him barreling down to the jungle floor. His sixty foot fall ended a few feet from Ripcord, who almost sworn he heard the man's bones break. Ripcord looked back up to sight another Range Viper. He saw three more fall under the fire from his squad. Six men left. Ripcord found his next target. He never got a chance to squeeze the trigger. Something slammed into his gut. It sent him flying back about eight feet and his weapon went spiraling away from him. He landed against a tree trunk, blackness clawing at the edge of his vision. He tried to focus. Tried to stay lucid. The remaining Range Vipers had hit the ground and were trading fire with his squad. At first he thought it wasn't real. There was a huge man approaching him. Repeater? No. It was the man that repelled in with the Range Vipers. Ripcord fought a swiftly losing battle to stay alert. He saw the man stop a few feet in front of him. Ripcord blinked. As his eyes opened he was staring down the muzzle of the man's Bizon-2. 

"You should not have come to my jungle." Ripcord was brought back to reality as a high pitched scream tore into his mind. He saw a flash in the distance and cloud of smoke. Less than a second later there was a bright light and a loud sound. As more of the darkness lifted from Ripcord's head he realized what had happened. Fastdraw had just hit the helicopter with one of his two LAWs. Ripcord and his executioner looked up to see the helicopter start to fall through the canopy. Ripcord reacted instantly. It was certain death or possible death. He didn't hesitate. He shot to his feet and dove further away from the where the helicopter would come down. As he watched the mine laden ground rush up at him, he prayed to see Covergirl again. That's when it happened. He felt the explosion more than he heard it. 

He felt heat. He heard fire. He slowly opened his eyes. The darkness provided by the canopy was gone. It looked like every inch of the jungle was on fire. As his senses processed everything he took stock of himself. He was on the ground spread out on his belly. Other than some bumps and bruises he seemed okay. He slowly tilted his head up, his eyes falling three short, thin metal rods sticking up from the ground, just inches from his face. "Holy shit..." He trailed off in a small voice. As carefully as he could he slowly put his feet under himself and stood. He started to bring his M-16 up when his realized it had flown away from him earlier. Ripcord reached down and pulled his M-1911 out of it's holster on his hip. As he took the safety off he pistol as his eyes scanned the area. Smoke, fire, and twisted metal everywhere. Occasionally he'd see a haphazard, smoldering mass that he could only assume was a body. He shuttered at the thought that it might be one of his squad. "Status?" He asked into the receiver. No answer. It must be broken. It has to be broken. Maybe they'd be in shouting distance. "Can anybody hear-" Ripcord's words were cut short as he saw a figure appear from behind a tree. Ripcord recognized the man from earlier and immediately raised his pistol. He wasn't fast enough. A massive leg slammed into his gut and sent him into a tree trunk. The man was on top of Ripcord before he knew it. He grabbed Ripcord's arm before he could raise his pistol, and slamming it into the tree. Ripcord inhaled sharply as the pistol slipped from his grip. Still recovering from the pain in his hand he wasn't ready when the man back fisted him in the chest, forcing the air from his lungs. Wheezing and trying to keep the pain the in his body from overtaking his senses he felt the big Cobra flip him over. He felt the man's hands wrap around his chin and the back of his kevlar. Ripcord's mind flashed back to the Frag Viper at the A10 complex. No! The man started to turn Ripcord's head. Ripcord strained to resist, forcing the man to put even more of his strength into his killing blow. Ripcord clawed at the man's forearms with one arm, forcing the laughter from the man. 

"The last thing you will hear is the cracking of your vertebrae, one by one!" A thousand things rushed through his head. None offering any help until the image of Covergirl's face entered his mind. No! His free hand, shaking violent from the intense strain his body was putting out to fight the man, he began to fumble with the snap on his knife's scabbard. The strap snapped open, dropping the knife into his hand. 

"NO!" Ripcord yelled as his arm shot up, sending the knife barreling at the Cobra's face. The Cobra broke his hold to block the incoming knife. He was too late. The tip of the knife connected with the Cobra's eye. Ripcord heard a deafening high pitched scream as a warm fluid hit the back of his neck. Neither was enough for him to feel sorry for the Cobra. He jerked the hilt down, feeling more resistance. The screaming continued as the man's grip went limp, sending Ripcord sprawling out on the ground. He saw the Cobra stumble off into the jungle, screaming all the way. He focused on the spot of the jungle where the Cobra had disappeared, half expecting him to return like a demon. The green of the jungle started to blur, then darkness. 

"STATUS" Came the call from Hotseat over the radio after the sounds of firefight ended. That's one. The team had pretty much scattered to take on the Range Vipers. 

"Heavy Metal - Check." That's two. 

"Zap - Check." Three. 

"Repeater - Check" Four 

"Covergirl - Check" Five 

"Fast Draw - Checked, locked, and fully loaded." Six. Silence. Seven. She thought slowly There are seven of us. No. 

"Ripcord, STATUS?" Hotseat called into the radio. Again, Silence. Why? Why Ripcord? "RIPCORD, REPEAT, STATUS!" 

"I saw him last holding them off, right near where the chopper came down" Zap's statement put a lump in her throat tight enough to keep her from breathing. No 

"Search parties, double up." She was closest physically to Fast Draw. Fast Draw who shot the LAW rocket, bringing the entire chopper down. Fast Draw, who she'd hold personally responsible if ANYTHING happened to Ripcord. Hot shot sonuvabitch 

"No." She shook her head, unclenching her teeth. Nothing had happened to Ripcord. She knew Fast Draw made the right call, had she been carrying the LAW, she would have done the same, but she didn't want to admit it. It was easier to be mad at something tangible. 

"Remember, watch for traps people. Caution is key." Zap and Heavy Metal took east, She and Fast Draw to the west, Hotseat and Repeater straight up the middle, eventually to merge at the crash site. She and Fast Draw stepped quickly over bloodied bodies, her praying each time they came upon them that Ripcord wouldn't be one of them. Seconds seemed endless as they avoided the smoldering fires and the pieces of molten hull which had once been a rotary wing aircraft. At least the rain was good for something. "STATUS?" from over the radio. Hotseat. 

"Nothing.." Fuck. 

"Nothing." 

"We'll give it just one more sweep." He called. She shook her head in disbelief. 'No.' She thought. 'We'll give it as many sweeps as it takes, we're going to find him, we're going to find him, and he's going to be okay. ' "Fast Draw, Covergirl, drawback, Zap, Heavy Metal, stay east." They were too close to the wreckage to drawback. He might be there. He might need help. Fast Draw put a hand on her shoulder as she continued to walk towards the craft. 

"We were told to draw back." He said almost gently. She shrugged him off. "HEY!" he called, catching up to her. "We were told to back off." This time, he clamped a hand down hard on her shoulder. 

"Fuck you!" She spat, trying again to windmill his hand off. He held fast and spun her to face him. 

"What are you going to do, huh?" He asked. "Charge in there do WHAT? All it's going to prove is that you're too damn emotional to handle this, not do a thing to help out Skyboy" 

"Quit calling him that!" She hissed. 

"That's what I'm talking about. Hotseat's not stupid, you know. He was there, remember? A10. We were told to head to Zulu, obviously told that for a reason, yet did you? We drawback." She stared at him for a second, rage filled, until she finally was able to choke out a few more words. 

"A10 never happened. Who the hell do you think you are, lecturing me abou.." 

"I think I'm the guy who saved your life once, and is about to do it again. Listen, you want to be mad at someone, fine, you be mad at me. You be as mad at me as you want. I'm not going to have you walking around like some zombie like back in the woods when I found you with those Cobra...." 

"You have to keep bringing that up, don't you? Conceited fuck! Do you want a medal?" 

"No, what I want is for you to stay focused. If being mad will keep you focused, then you stay mad. But you have to face facts, Babe, Skyboy might not be coming out of there, the sooner you accept that, the sooner you" 

"GOT HIM!" from over the radio. Zap gave the sector. She froze. "He's breathing." She closed her eyes for a second, relief washing over her, yet Fast Draw didn't let up. 

"Suck it up, Krieger." He told her. "You keep letting your emotions take control, you're going to end up dead." She absolutely hated him, his cocky attitude, and his damn lecture. They were the first to arrive to Zaps locale. Zap had taken one knee in front of his teammate, Heavy Metal standing guard in the background. Her eyes fell to the crimson blood which soaked his collar and hair. She thought she saw Fast Draw roll his eyes and shake his head as she dropped down next to Zap, but didn't care. Zap had opened his BDU shirt, raising the t-shirt underneath. Deep shades of reds, blues and blacks covered his ribs and abdomen. She hesitated before grabbing his gloved hand, then decided it was something she'd do if it were any of the others well, almost any of the others. 

"I'd hate to see the size of the guy that did this." Zap said. She didn't see a bandage, anything applied to a wound by his neck, wincing as she touched the blood, feeling the tears starting to build, tears she swallowed down quickly. As big a dick as Fast Draw was, he was right about showing emotions, and he of all people would never see her cry.. "Not his." Zap quickly told her about the blood. "I checked him." 

"Jesus" After a brief minute "Can he be moved?" 

"Nothing internal from what I can seeHe should be" She lightly touched his ribs, not believing the deep color of the bruises, causing him to let out a small groan. His green eyes fluttered, rolling from the back of his head forward, and he woke with a start, almost as if he was still fighting. "Easy, buddy Easy" Zap grabbed him to keep him from swinging, as he frantically looked around. Once a little more aware of his surroundings, he shrugged Zap off, sitting up on his own. His eyes quickly scanned the soldiers around him, falling on hers and softening. She tried to offer a warm smile not show any sign of how bad he really looked. Still somewhat dazed, he smiled back, coughing slightly, but patting her on the hand. 

"Unbelievable" from Fast Draw, before he joined Heavy Metal on guard. 

"What happened, amigo?" Zap asked. Ripcord shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, becoming more alert, sitting up. He pulled down his T-shirt, and started buttoning his shirt as Zap and Covergirl tried to convince him that he should stay down. He insisted on standing, cursing when he slipped and fell to one knee, grabbing his ribs. 

"Just stay down, you're hurt" She told him. For the first time he turned angry eyes on her. Never, not even when he was set to fight Fast Draw had she seen them towards her. He looked away quickly. "I'm fine." He insisted. Stubborn. Just like he was when his arm was hurt. Part of her wanted to touch his ribs, show him that he wasn't, but not with Fast Draw standing there. He stood up on his own to prove it, shrugging off Zap's hand, and looked around. "Hotseat? Repeater?" She checked her watch. Near 10 minutes had past. He and Repeater should have been there, they weren't so far off. She thought back to all the traps that they had avoided, and felt a strong chill through the hot jungle air. She shot a look to Zap that Ripcord caught. "What?" Ripcord asked, wide eyed. 

"They should be here by now." Ripcord shot off questions rapid fire, hearing two teammates were missing. His questions were soon answered by gunshots. Several of them, from the west. 


	5. Chapter 5

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER FIVE 

At first Hotseat had thought it was Ripcord, until he realized there was more than one figure traveling in their direction. Hotseat immediately turned towards Repeater and pointed to his eyes with two fingers then the direction of the figures. While his eyes were still focused on where Hotseat had pointed, Repeater and made a half circle motion with his hand. Hotseat nodded and the two veteran soldiers melted back into the jungle. As the duo made their flanking maneuver more details of the figures came out. Six Range Vipers with the same odd alligator skin pattern dyed into the normal Range Viper uniform and again armed with Bizon-2s. They couldn't have made it here on foot or even by ground vehicle on such short notice. They must have dropped in from another helicopter shortly after the first. There had been plenty of noise between the firefight and the downing of the first helicopter to mask the noise of another. Hotseat pushed away his theories. It didn't matter where they'd come from. Right now all that mattered was stopping them. Finally the two reached a suitable point where the advancing wedge of Range Vipers would pass them. Both went prone and drew a bead on the enemy point man. Hotseat's pulse raced as the Range Vipers approached, if they were seen before they could spring their ambush it was all over. As the enemy point man came directly in line with the duo, Repeater opened fire. The big 7.62mm round connected with the side of the point man's knee, literally blowing the man's leg in two. As the point man and his lower leg fell towards the ground one of the others rushed forward to help. Hotseat fired. The smaller 5.56mm round impacted on the cheek of the Cobra's full-head helmet. The ballistic material slowed the bullet but didn't stop it completely. The Range Viper fell to his knees, clawing at the latches on his head gear. By now the others had dove prone, save one who must have been dazed by the suddenness of the attack. It would be his last hesitation. Repeater swung the M-60 in-line with the man and fired off a burst. The man fell backwards in a spray of crimson. As the man's limp body hit the ground, an explosion was heard followed by debris and smoke flying up from where the corpse had hit. It startled Hotseat for the briefest fraction of a second. He'd almost forgotten that they were fighting in a minefield. The Cobras started to organize and return fire. It was time to go. "Displace!" Hotseat yelled to Repeater as the two moved into crouches and moved as fast as they could back into the depths of the jungle. Hotseat was so busy focusing on the ground and it's deadly contents that he didn't even see it coming. An arm flashed out in front of him from behind a tree, clothes-lining the NCO and knocking him on his back, sending his M-16 flying away from him. Shaking his head to fight the blackness creeping into the edge of his sight he saw Repeater still running away, unaware Hotseat had been hit. Hotseat started to yell out to his teammate when he was cut off by the sound of the Bizon-2 held by the Range Viper that had hit him. He saw the big Ranger stumble forward, crimson fluid flying from where the bullets impacted on his LC-2 just before he'd hit the ground. Hotseat screamed in his mind. Why?! Why weren't you wearing your vest?! As the Range Viper darted forwards, leveling his Bizon-2 down at Hotseat, the NCO tried to get a final transmission out. 

"Get the hell outta here! Repeater's down! I'm n-" The group's eyes widen as the transmission came in and was cut off as quickly as it was spoken. Covergirl immediately shouted out and started in the direction that the gunfire had come from. 

"Our guys are in trouble! Repeater's hit, we gotta get them out of there!" She called frantically as she waved everyone forward. 

"No." Ripcord said. Covergirl stared daggers at Ripcord. He continued in an even voice. "He said 'down' not 'hit', you know what that means. There's nothing more we can do for them and there's no telling how many hostiles there are between us and them. Plus we still got a mission to complete. If we do a wide hook around this area then we should be able to avoid the enemy force." 

"So we just leave them?" Covergirl retorted becoming more agitated with each passing moment. 

"We don't have a choice." Ripcord said solemnly with a slow shake of his head. 

"Yeah, why should we have to die too?" Heavy Metal said in a shaky voice as his eyes nervously scanned the jungle. 

"Maybe they got taken prisoner?" Zap offered. 

"Cobra don't take prisoners." Heavy Metal retorted. As the Zap and Heavy Metal argued Fastdraw approached Covergirl and whispered in her ear. 

"You got lucky with Skyboy babe, luck don't last that long." That earned him a stare from Cover that could freeze the sun. Her icy glare then shifted to Ripcord. 

"Fine. Then we just leave them. Your call." She said, scorn dripping from her voice. 

"Everyone stay behind me and Zap, make every move we make. We don't have much time so we're gonna have to run through this thing." He said, getting a nod from everyone but Covergirl. He didn't blame her. He hated himself for what he had just ordered too. 'It couldn't be avoided.' He told himself. 'Bullshit, you could have saved them.' Another part of himself shouted out. Trying in vain to shake the thoughts from his head, he looked around at his people. "Okay, let's move. Zap sidearm." Ripcord caught the M-1911 Zap had tossed to him and charged it. Ripcord then took a long look in front of them. He fought to clear his head. They were about run though a minefield, he couldn't be distracted. But despite how hard he tried his mind kept slipping back to image of the faces of the NCO and the big machine gunner. That and the sickening feeling of betraying someone dominated his thoughts. Then his mind fell on something Hotseat had told him on the long VAMP ride yesterday that seemed like years ago. 'Kid, if something happens to me out there, you've got command. I don't want you doin' stupid shit like leave-no-man-behind. This is a covert op, on this mission the most important thing is the mission. I don't want you to turn from that. Don't risk everyone's life someone is cut off. They'll hate you for it but they'll also be counting on you to bring them out alive. Losses are horrible but unavoidable, that's the nature of warfare. Promise me you'll act like a leader if the time comes.' "I promise." Ripcord repeated, not realizing he'd spoken the words out loud. That was sufficient enough to clear his thoughts. He took off across the mines. 

"Don't!" Hopkins yelled out to Fultz as his fellow Range Viper leveled his weapon at the soldier on the ground. 

"Why not? This sonuvabitch wasted our buddies. Why should he get to live when they didn't." Fultz said through gritted teeth. 

"Look man, I wanna waste this asshole just as much as you but do you really think two soldiers did all this?" Hopkins asked as he motioned to the jungle around them. "There must have been at least a platoon here." He jerked his thumb towards the soldier he'd seen Fultz gun down. "With that one dead, this one's the only guy left that can give info on this group." 

"But these guys might've kill Cr-" Fultz started but was cut off. 

"We take him prisoner. End of discussion. Strip his equipment. That's an order." Hopkins barked back at Fultz. After the slightest moment of hesitation Fultz bent down and began to violently tear equipment off of Hotseat, punching him in the face whenever the slightest motion of resistance was given. As Fultz stripped Hotseat down to his brown t-shirt, BDU pants, and boots another Range Viper, Schmidt, approached Hopkins. 

"I've found a blood trail along with large size Cobra issue boot prints. Could be the boss." Schmidt reported. 

"Alright." Hopkins replied with a nod. "Okay Listen up people, here's the deal. Radick and Ellis need to be taken back to base along with the prisoner; Dane, Ostapovich, and Vickers will act as escort. Fultz, Schmidt, Quincy, and myself are going to see if we can track down the boss." 

"What about policing the area or trying to find the other soldiers?" Dane asked. 

"No time. Radick and Ellis need medical attention and we've got no clue what kind of shape the boss is in, so we need to hurry. Move out." With the end of Hopkins' orders the group of Range Vipers split up to carry out their tasks. 

After what seemed like an eternity of their dangerous run, the mines and tripwires started to completely disappear. Ripcord thought that the Cobras must have thought no one would've been able to make it this far. They had to be getting closer to the MARS factory. In addition to the almost nonexistent amount of traps, the number of animal noises had dropped dramatically, a sure sign that man controlled the area. Finally Ripcord stopped. Everyone else stopped immediately where they stood. "Alright, we've put some distance between us and them, let's take a few to catch our breath. But don't let your guard down. The lack of traps can only mean we're getting closer." The group nodded and Ripcord eased himself over to a tree and carefully sat down, his torso screaming out in protest every inch of the way. As he finally eased down on the floor of the jungle he saw Covergirl stand up and walk over. He closed his eyes for moment, expecting to hear her complaints about leaving the others behind. He opened them to see her on a knee in front of him. 

"It's okay, you know. You can admit it hurts." She said in a soft voice. 

"I can't afford to slow the team down. If they're worried about me, they lose focus." Ripcord said quietly with a shake of his head, almost not wanting to admit it. 

"I know, I'm just saying you don't always have to be Superman." She responded with a shrug. 

"Can you at least help me tape these up while you lecture me?" Ripcord said as another jolt of pain hit while he tried to lean forward a bit. 

"I'm not trying to lecture you..." She said as she start to gently open his ALICE gear and ballistic vest, "But you aren't going to do the team any good if you're dead. Besides... it's too late. I... I mean we are worried about you." She said as she tried to focus on getting his equipment off. She was forced to look up as Ripcord took hold of her hand. He looked into her eyes for a moment before he spoke. 

"I...I worry about you too Courtney." 

His eyes had fluttered open to the sound of several people talking nearby. His back hurt like hell. Fighting the urge to stand and take stock of himself he remained motionless. Why hadn't they checked him? They seemed to be good enough to check people that went down. Maybe there were in a hurry, unless he was hit worse than he thought. He pushed the thoughts from his mind. Now wasn't the time to panic. After what felt like forever he heard the group start to walk away. He remained still a few more minutes after the sounds of movement had gone into the distance. Finally he slowly turned his head side to side, looking for signs of people. The area was clear. Repeater picked himself up off the ground. He looked around the jungle one more time, making sure the area was clear. With a groan as his sore back muscles worked he shrugged the LC-2 ruck off. He immediately noticed red stains covering the LC-2. His pulse started to race as he jerked open his ballistic vest and ALICE gear. He had been hit. Shock must have set in, he didn't feel anything but soreness. He slipped out of the ALICE gear and ballistic vest, looking on inside. It hadn't been breached. What the hell? He flipped it over, the red stains and stopped 9mm rounds were clearly seen on the back of the vest. He bent down and opened up the LC-2, seeing red stains coating the inside of the ruck. He inspected the destroyed equipment. His eyes falling on the epicenter of the stains. He pulled the bullet-ridden MRE package out of the ruck, noticing the writing on it 'MEAL READY TO EAT # 23 TOMATO SOUP'. He let out a sigh of relief. Saved by the same government food soldiers had bad mouthed for decades. Sudden reality snapped back to him. His team. He needed to get to his team. He keyed the radio. Nothing. He looked down at his ALICE gear that he held in his hand. He saw the power unit for the radio. A bullet hole was dead center of the black metal rectangle. He was alone in the jungle again. No! This was different, his squad was still alive. He had to link up with them. He had to protect them. If Ripcord was smart, which Repeater didn't doubt, he'd remain on mission and head for the MARS factory. That's where Repeater would go to find them. He picked the spent 9mm rounds out of his ballistic vest before putting it and the ALICE gear back on. He then reached into his LC-2, linking the remaining 7.62mm rounds into two belts which draped over his torso. He left his LC-2 and his destroyed radio gear. He couldn't be slowed down. He had to reach his squad. "Hang on guys, I'm coming." 

Hopkins ran forward when he saw Croc Master's prone form. He threw off his full face helmet as he knelt down beside his leader. Carefully he rolled Croc Master over. Hopkins had to look away to keep from vomiting. One side of Croc Master's face seemed fine but the other was maimed beyond belief. Hopkins could see little through all the blood that covered his face and had ran down the front of his shirt, but what he did see what horrifying. Croc Master's eye had been ruptured and there was a gash leading from the eye socket to his mouth, splitting his upper lip completely in two in the process. The four front teeth of the top row were missing altogether and from what Hopkins could see it looked like his tongue had been split right down the middle. Hopkins was amazed when he saw the remaining eye flutter open. "It's okay sir, we're gonna get you outta here." Hopkins reassured his fallen leader as he turned to Fultz. "Fultz get a chopper here right now, if he's evaced soon he can make it." Fultz nodded and started to try to raise the base. "We got a bird on the way sir. Just hang on, you're gonna make it." One of Croc Master's arms shakily raised up and grabbed Hopkins' shoulder, bringing the Range Viper closer to his destroyed face. 

"Hopkinssss, find out who did thissss. Find out who took my face. I want hissss head." 

"Alright, we've put some distance between us and them, let's take a few to catch our breath. But don't let your guard down. The lack of traps can only mean we're getting closer." Ripcord told everyone. Zap and Heavy Metal dropped where the were. Fast Draw patted the ground beside him with a sly smirk that made her despise him all the more. Disgusted, she moved off to be by herself. Every ounce of her knew they were doing the wrong thing. Just like back in England, when Big Ben made her leave Ripcord behind in the collapsing building. It just felt wrong. And this felt wrong. Hotseat and Repeater. Repeater who had thrown her and Heavy Metal to the ground, protecting them from the mines. He was willing to give up his life for theirs, and. And Ripcord was right. Hotseat said he was down, not hit. Down implies that you aren't going to get back up. She swallowed hard at the reality. The big guy was gone. He may not have said much, but he was still a presence, and somehow, she always felt just a little safer when he was on watch. She wished she were more religious, like Zap, maybe there was some 'make-it-better' prayer. She still held hope for Hotseat, hoped Heavy Metal was wrong about Cobra taking prisoners. Unless She shuddered at the image, thinking back to old war movies and scenes of torture. She saw Ripcord ease himself over to a tree and carefully sit down, obviously in pain. 'Idiot.' She thought, shaking her head. She saw the extent of the damage to his ribs, she knew he had to be hurting, why couldn't he just admit it? She thought back to the frantic minutes of searching for him, thinking the worst that she'd never see him again, and softened. He was hurt. Letting out a deep breath, she walked over to where he was sitting, taking a knee in front of him, trying to figure out something to say. 

"It's okay, you know. You can admit it hurts." Was the best she could come up with. 

"I can't afford to slow the team down. If they're worried about me, they lose focus." Ripcord said quietly with a shake of his head. 

"I know, I'm just saying you don't always have to be Superman." Superman always had his kryptonite, a weakness. His seemed to be not admitting he was hurt, that he needed help. 

"Can you at least help me tape these up while you lecture me?" Ripcord said. She smiled slightly, thinking the kryptonite rock just became a little smaller. 

"I'm not trying to lecture you..." She said as she started to gently open his ALICE gear and ballistic vest, 

"But you aren't going to do the team any good if you're dead. Besides... it's too late. I... I mean we are worried about you." She tried to catch herself from saying what was on her mind. She didn't want him thinking like Fast Draw, that she was too emotional to handle being on the team. She focused instead on getting his equipment off. She was forced to look up as Ripcord took hold of her hand. He looked into her eyes for a moment before he spoke. 

"I...I worry about you too Courtney." Courtney. He didn't use it often, but hearing him say her name gave her a feeling of security, warmth, like being wrapped in an oversized quilt on a cold night. 

"I know." She wanted to be as comforting to him as he was to her, a feat made more difficult as she wrapped a few layers of duct tape around his sore swollen ribs. It was the only tape she'd had on her wide enough to handle the job, and although she knew it would sting like a bitch when it was taken off, for now it would serve it's purpose. "Should help a little." She told him, tearing off the tape and patting it firmly on his back. Her hand rested on his warm skin for a second, wishing he hadn't looked so battered. Mechanics were so much easier. Whatever was damaged could simply be replaced. Mechanically she knew she could fix near anything, she only wished she could fix this for him. She couldn't help but stare at his strong shoulders. From day one, she'd noticed he looked good in his BDU's, and her eyes quickly traced the muscles on his back and arms. He had a tattoo on his right arm, looked like a bat coming out of some flames she shook her head. Now wasn't the time. "How's the arm? She asked, as she helped him put his gear back on. He shrugged. 

"All right. It's starting to scab up but the humidity and everything that's been happening isn't making it any easier to heal." He rubbed at the bandages for a second, and she visually scanned them for blood. 

"Need a rewrap?" He shook his head quickly. "Not a chance." She nodded, it still had a covering, it still looked clean, she figured that's all she could ask for. He looked into her eyes for a long moment. 

"Thanks. For everything." He said, softly. She nodded in response. He stood up a little easier, she wasn't sure if it was from the tape-up, or just him putting on a braver face for her benefit. "Gear up." He told the team, heading over by Zap. "Zap you're on point. Heavy Metal, Cover. Fast Draw, You've got the back, get set to move out." 

"Hey Florence Nightingale, if I were wounded, would you look into my pain-filled eyes, and help me rally my strength, too?" Fast Draw commented softly, as he walked by. 

"Go to hell." 

"A little mouth to mouth maybe?" For a split second, she wished it had been him, rather than Repeater. She almost said so, but caught herself before the words could escape from her mouth. Losing the darkness meant losing their cover, but it made traveling easier. Before long, the jungle air that had just begun to heat up was back to stifling. Another klick went by before Zap gave the hold up followed by the down sign. Simultaneously, the team dropped. Ripcord half low-crawled to where Zap lay on his stomach, before giving the forward signal, indicating for them to spread out. Only Fast Draw hung back. Ahead, in the distance lay a clearing. Surrounded by a razor wire topped fence was a large complex which actually looked a lot like a small army base. Central in the complex was a huge factory building, surrounded by smaller buildings which she assumed were for storage, possibly barracks. To the west was a helipad, aircraft hangars, and from the amount of strange vehicles, the motor pool. Guard towers looked to be every 200 ft apart or so, with patrol soldiers stationed in between. She'd never seen a more well-guarded institution. He spoke in hand signals from that point forward, indicating Zap was going to scout ahead. Fast Draw was to hang back. Stay alert. No weapons. Total silence. The sound of footsteps alerted them that a patrol was on it's way. Ripcord made a final silence sign, then dragged a thumb across his throat. The others nodded. Keep silent unless spotted, if spotted, then kill. She could hear them mumbling, still far enough away not to be clearly heard, but there were definitely at least one two.. three of them. 

"Did he say how many there were?" She held her breath as they came closer, scouting through the tree line. 

"I don't think he said much of anything, doubt he'll be saying anything in the future." 

"I heard the jungle's supposed to be crawling with them, so stay alert." She kept her head down, but swung her eyes upward to see the intruders Zap. They were close in line with Zap. She shifted her eyes right, towards where Ripcord lay motionless. She half feared that maybe he'd passed out, internal injuries or something, but his eyes were too focused, intense. She held her breath and watched, flipping her eyes back and forth between Ripcord and Zap. The troopers went wide, they were going to miss him. She almost breathed a sigh of relief, until she realized they were headed their way. Her eyes swung back to Ripcord, who still lay motionless, still drawing a tight bead on them with his eyes. She was sure they'd hear her heart pounding, it was the only sound filling her ears at that point, drowning out the normal din of the jungle. She could see the alligator pattern on the Range Viper uniforms, different from the snake sign she was now used to seeing. All reptiles. Alligators were reptiles, not amphibians, right? Funny where your mind wanders when you don't want to think about what you were doing. Steps became louder as they closed in. There was no way they'd miss them. The troopers were getting too close. Ripcord shot out at the one closest to him, causing her and Heavy Metal to do the same. The trooper she had intended on stabbing instead grabbed her knife arm in self defense, twisting it in a violent motion. Fast Draw was on him before the elbow could snap, before she could react. He stabbed the trooper in the back of the neck with his own knife, drawing it out quickly. Stunned, the Viper dropped his grip on Covergirl, bringing both of his hands to his neck for protection, but it was too late. 

"That's one." She heard from Fast Draw. Not even taking the time to watch the Viper fall, he ran to where Ripcord was choking 'his' trooper. From what she could see, Ripcord had managed to get behind the Viper, squeezing his neck under his elbow in a choke hold. The Viper was able to get two strong elbow shots directly to the ribs, and she could hear him curse through clenched teeth, still holding fast. Fast Draw was on that Cobra next, stabbing the same knife deep into the Vipers chest cavity, once again immediately withdrawing the knife. "And that's two. Direct shot to the heart.." He commented, as he let the trooper fell forward, Checking to his extreme left, he could see Heavy Metal with his dead trooper before him. "Well, looks like my work is done here." He said, blowing on the end of his knife like it was a six shooter from some old cowboy movie. He wiped the blood off on his BDU pants, then went to take his position again in the back. Winking at Covergirl, he added "That's two you owe me babe." 


	6. Chapter 6

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER SIX 

Ripcord ignored Fastdraw's show boating, his mind was focused on more important things. He knelt down and scooped up the fallen Range Viper's G-41 assault rifle and pulled its nine magazines from the Range Viper's gear. After replacing his M-16 magazines with the G-41 ones he inspected the rifle. Everything was in order. He was fully armed again. Now it was time to finally get started on this mission. He waved everyone in. Once their were all gathered around he passed out his M-16 magazines as he spoke. "Okay folks here's the deal. Me and Heavy Metal are going to take the first shift watching the MARS factory. We've only got half the equipment so we'll have to improvise a lot on our surveillance." Ripcord didn't have to say why they only had half of the equipment. Sudden sullen look on the faces of his squad meant they knew why. The equipment had been split between Heavy Metal and Hotseat. Hotseat. Ripcord shook the thought of the NCO away. They'd already lost two people. If he didn't focus on the task at hand he'd lose more. That was unacceptable. As the thoughts of keeping his team alive pressed ahead of memories of the lost, Ripcord mentally recomposed himself and continued. "Zap, Covergirl, Fastdraw, I need you to hide these bodies. Make sure you disconnect their radios, I don't want somebody to find them by playing 'Marco Polo'. After that catch some sleep. One of you will always be on watch. You'll rotate in and out on hourly shifts. Fastdraw, you've got first watch. The recon element will rotate in and out every six hours. Covergirl and Zap will have the next run as the recon element. Let's move." Everyone gave a nod, except for Fastdraw who let out a heavy exhale. The group then broke and headed off to do their respective tasks. Ripcord and Heavy Metal crouch-walked as close to the tree line as possible. After the jungle started to bleed into the huge clearing, the two soldiers dropped prone and began to low crawl towards the edge of the jungle. Ripcord winced with every movement as the low crawl stained on his battered and bruised chest and abdomen. Finally after what the pain made feel like an eternity, Ripcord and Heavy Metal stopped just over a meter from the tree line. Ripcord's eyes scanned the complex as Heavy Metal went to work on setting up the equipment they had. An infrared video camera, a normal video camera, and the data transfer parabolic antenna. They were missing the laser range finder, parabolic microphone, and the starlight camera. Ripcord pushed away those thoughts of what was missing. He knew the direction the thoughts would take him in. His attention was pulled away as the soft whine of servos filled the air. He glanced over to Heavy Metal who had just finished setting up the two video cameras. The two cameras used small motors in their tripods to pan across the complex in slow arcs. His gaze then shifted to the small fold-out parabolic antenna which Heavy Metal had just plugged his radio's headset into. 

"Control, Control, this Jaguar we are at the target site and are recording and transmitting data, over." Heavy Metal spoke into his microphone. A moment later, he narrowed his eyes as if listening to someone then nodded and slipped his headset off. "They want a sitrep." Heavy Metal said as he handed the headset over to the Ripcord. Ripcord slipped the headset under his kevlar then keyed the microphone. 

"Control, this is Jaguar Three, over." Ripcord spoke, keeping his voice low. 

"What's your status Jaguar, over." Came back a voice over the line after a brief pause due to the satellite relay. 

"We are at target and conducting recon, however have only half of our equipment. Be advised we have two men down, one wounded. Enemy knows we are in operational area, over." Ripcord spoke, his voice dropping even lower as thoughts of his fallen comrades came to mind. 

"Roger Jaguar, you are ordered to stay on station and continue to observe the target. Do not engage any other units. I say again, do not engage any other units, over." The voice returned after a pause that was long enough to be more than just the satellite delay. 

"Affirmative Control." Ripcord returned. 

"You're a bit late for that asshole." Heavy Metal shot out before Ripcord could finish his transmission. 

"Say again, Jaguar." A different, more familiar voice came over the radio. 

"Nothing Control." Ripcord responded while he shot a look at Heavy Metal. 

"Jaguar, Continue to observe the target, Do not, I say again, Do not engage any other units, do you copy?" The voice said forcefully. Ripcord didn't respond. Heavy Metal was right, what was this asshole thinking? He'd already lost two people. He refused to lose another because he wasn't allowed to fire back. "Do you copy Jaguar?" The voice asked again, with more irritation this time. 

"Yeah...Yeah control, we hear ya." Ripcord said in an almost defeated voice. 

"Control out." The voice said in a grumbled tone. 

Ripcord was starting to get restless. His and Heavy Metal's turn as the recon element was stretching into its fourth hour. Ripcord had always hated just waiting. He was a man of action. That's why he went airborne instead of regular infantry, the travel time into the battle zone would be highly irritable to him. He looked at his watch for about the thousandth time. At least he was gathering a lot of intelligence on the factory. Apparently even with his squad taking down patrols left and right, it was business as usual. Transport trucks were coming and going around the clock. They would drive up to the massive outdoor storage area and load up a vehicle or two into cargo containers then lift them onto the trucks. The storage area in itself was impressive. There had to always be at least a hundred or more Cobra vehicles in row after row. HiSSs, Stingers, STUNs, and other vehicles swelled the ranks, with an equal number rolling out of the factory as the number that was being taken away. All around the complex men and women in blue jumpsuits were going from one place to another, workers, Ripcord assumed. Then there was the security of the installation, it was heavy to say the least. In addition to guard towers and ADA emplacements there were roving patrols; six STUNs with full crews that kept an equal distance between each other and made orbits of the complex. The gates were the hardest points of the defense of the perimeter fence. Both of the reinforced gates on opposite ends of the complex were guarded by multiple Crimson Guardsmen with the sizable support of a HiSS and four ASP pods. Then every hour a flight of two Cobra Transport Helicopters and four FANGs would fly out then come back. More than likely searching for him and his team Ripcord guessed. Ripcord dropped the binoculars from his eyes, taking a moment to rub them. That's when it happened. There was a brief, feminine scream from a distance behind them. Covergirl! "Stay here!" Ripcord said to Heavy Metal as he shot to his feet and sprinted off in the direction of their encampment. 

Zap was awakened with a start as he was thrown forcefully against a tree. As his mind started to fade back into reality, he processed the facts. There was a Viper in front of him leveling a G-41 assault rifle at his chest. 

"Don't Move." The Viper growled. He looked behind the Viper to see another Viper kneel down beside Covergirl, forcefully grabbing her throat and pulling a USP pistol on her. She woke with a start and let out a scream of shock before the Viper pistol-whipped her, which sent a small gout of blood flying across her face as the action opened up a gash on her temple. The scream caused Fastdraw to shoot up into a sitting position, only to be kicked back down as the third Viper flashed out a kick which connected with the side of Fastdraw's face, sending blood flying from his mouth. The Viper then forcefully pressed the muzzle of his rifle into Fastdraw's chest. Things ran through Zap's mind. How did three Vipers get so close? Then it occurred to him. He had the second shift. He had never been awakened. Fastdraw had fallen asleep on guard duty. That mistake had just cost the team their lives. 

Ripcord sprinted forward, praying it wasn't too late to save his team. His chest and abdomen were on fire with pain. He ignored it. He couldn't allow himself to be slowed down. As he rushed towards the group, his eyes took in all the details he could, his mind processing the situation within seconds. He couldn't fire first. Still was still a somewhat covert operation. He leapt towards the Viper that was on top of Covergirl tackling the Viper off of her. As Ripcord struggled with the Viper he'd tackled, he saw Zap out of the corner of his eye. As Zap's Viper spun to look at Ripcord, Zap's leg flashed up, catching the Viper in the crotch. As the Viper sank to his knees Zap shot forward, withdrawing a knife and drawing it across the Viper's throat. Ripcord and his Viper wrestled on the ground, each with a strangle hold on the other. The Viper shifted his weight, rolling himself on top of Ripcord. The Viper suddenly went limp. Ripcord pushed the Viper off of himself to see Covergirl standing above him with a bloody knife. 

"Nobody move!" A voice shouted out. Ripcord turned to see the last Viper using Fastdraw as a human shield, one hand head-locking Fastdraw while the other held a USP pistol to his head. "Now, you're all going to listen to me or thi-" The Viper was cut off as a massive hand grabbed the Viper's wrist and jerked it back as loud snap was heard. The Viper's following scream was cut short as the figure behind him snapped the Viper's head around. As the Viper fell to the ground, the figure behind him was seen. 

"Repeater!" Covergirl shouted. Ripcord let a smile play across his face. The big machine gunner was alive. 

"Nice timing Repeater." Ripcord said as he nodded at his teammate. As the joy of seeing Repeater alive stopped dominating his thoughts he turned to Zap. "What the hell happened?" 

"Fastdraw fell asleep on guard duty." Zap growled as he stared at Fastdraw. 

"That's the last draw." Ripcord hissed out as he stormed over towards Fastdraw. "What the fuck were you thinking?!" Ripcord yelled at Fastdraw as he took hold of his ALICE gear and shook him violently. "First you almost get half the team killed on the jump! I hate to tell you, you may be good but you're not infallible! Without you knowing what to do your neck would've snapped like a dry twig when you hit the canopy! Then this! Falling asleep on guard duty! What if those Vipers had just wanted to kill you!? Huh!? What if they just shot you right off the bat?! This is the last mistake you're gonna make asshole!" Ripcord yelled as he started to pull his M-1911 from it's holster. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, EASY!" Zap said, grabbing Ripcord's right arm. He stood once again between the two men, one ready to fight, one still looking like a roach caught in the middle of the floor when you flip the kitchen light on. Dressing down the big lug was fine, pulling a weapon on him was something else. "C'mon, Cool down." He attempted to push Ripcord back into the tree line, get him away from Fast Draw, but the paratrooper had him in size and strength. "He's not the enemy we're supposed to fight, amigo. You don't want to do this." Ripcord shifted his weight so Zap couldn't push him backwards, then stared hard at Fast Draw. Slowly he pulled back the hammer. 

"Give me one good reason motherfucker...one reason." Zap holds his grip even tighter, not believing the scene before him. 

"Holy Shit Ripcord! Pull it together!" Repeater forcibly grabbed Fast Draw by the shoulder, not wanting to make any sudden movements, as if ready to pull the stunned man away. Ripcord didn't budge, didn't lower his weapon. 

"Repeater, move." He forcefully ordered. Repeater stood protectively by his teammate, shaking his head in a 'no' gesture. 'He's gonna kill him literally kill him.' Her mind screamed. Stepping besides Zap, she looked into Ripcord's furious eyes, shaking her head no. 

"Ripcord.... He's not worth it." She said, softly. "You don't want to do this he's not worth it" She slowly put her hand on top of his weapon, gently trying to push it from aiming on its mark. "Don't, Wally, Please? Don't do this?" He shifted his eyes briefly to hers, before shifting them back. Seconds ticked, no one dared exhale, no one dared breath. Finally, Ripcord eased the hammer forward and let the pistol drop to his side, walking away. "He ain't worth the bullet." Covergirl muttered under her breath, exhaling and glancing Fast Draw's way. He was still white as a sheet. She and Zap exchanged glances, a kind of what-the-fuck-just-happened look, before she swung her eyes to see Repeater. "Never thought we'd see you...." She started with a warm smile, then added "again" as he silently turned and went back to his vigilant post, watching over his team. She resisted the urge to make a comment to Fast Draw, though she had several in mind, figuring almost getting killed twice in one day was enough punishment. Sucking in a deep breath, she walked over to where Ripcord stood alone, his sidearm still in his hand, hanging by his thigh. His left arm rest up against a tree, his posture for the first time less than perfect. Touching him lightly on the shoulder from behind she whispered "Are you okay?" She was almost afraid of the answer she'd get. He couldn't make eye contact, couldn't even face her. Looking down, he said just as softly 

"I don't know I've never lost it like that before." 

"Everyone loses it once in a while. Was just your turn is all," She tried, reassuringly. He nodded slowly, still not turning to face her. 

"I know that but I was ready to kill him...one of my own troops...that's not something everyone does once in a while." 

"You wouldn't have done it. You couldn't have pulled the trigger." She told him. "You're not a murderer." 

"Tell that to that Viper at the stream last night." The Viper. She knew that was getting to him. She wished there was something she could do, some way to fix this. 

"Hey..." She said, softly, "You said it yourself, that had to be done. Us or them, remember? That wasn't murder. You were protecting your team. You were protecting...." she'd cut herself short. 

"Well a lot of good killing him to keep our mission covert did." He said, rubbing at his ribs. She winced, knowing he was hurting, not just from the physical injury. 

"What were you going to do? Take him prisoner? Have him alert every Viper in a 10 mile radius? He'd have killed any one of us in a heartbeat." 

"I know it had to be done. I wouldn't have done it different if I had to." He turned for the first time to look her in the eyes. "But that doesn't mean that kid's face doesn't still burn away in my head." 

"That kid would have killed you. He would have killed me." He brushed his hand gingerly though her hair, pushing aside loose strands that were sticking to the coagulating blood, wincing himself. She grabbed his hand, holding it between both of hers. "You have to let it go. I wish I could take it away...." 

"You can't take it away." His green eyes suddenly looked more worried. Removing a bandage from her ALICE, he started to dress her wound. As gentle as his touch was, she couldn't help but flinch. "But you can help. Stay alive, Courtney, promise me you'll stay alive?" She looked down, letting him finish with her forehead, then softly put a hand on his ribcage. 

"You need more tape." 

"Courtney?" She sighed, looking back up at him, scared from the reality of what he asked. She needed him to hold it together, the team needed him to hold it together, but who were they to put that kind of pressure on him? No, she thought. He'd done enough for them. It wasn't fair. But she couldn't make a promise to him she couldn't keep. "I can't. Just like you can't promise me you're going to stay alive. As much as I want you to you can't. You don't know for sure what's going to happen. I can promise that I'll be careful, and that you'll be careful, but when it comes down to it, I just can't." Their eyes locked for a second 

"You have to Courtney because....because I.....I ." The approaching footsteps stopped him from finishing his sentence. 

"Everything okay, buddy?" Zap asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Fine." He said, staring at her for one more soft second before putting his game face back on. 

"We have to move around to another position. They'll know where we are because of the Vipers. Get Heavy Metal and lets move it out." Heavy Metal almost actually looked relieved as she helped him pack up the equipment to relocate. She wasn't sure if it was from the fact that they were moving, or the fact that he'd missed the action back in the jungle. She couldn't figure him out. Smart guy, he seemed to be. Seemed to know about the computer equipment and stuff, but there was something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He was armor, a tanker, driver like her, but not like her. He seemed almost skittish, something you tend to lose when around exploding shells for a while. "Zap, point, Fast Draw, cover." She gave him credit, half expecting an 'if you can stay awake long enough' comment that never came. "Repeater, good to have you back, big guy, you got your slot. Let's go." He acted like nothing had happened, like the whole thing never took place. Covergirl guessed that was yet another SOP for the team. Fast Draw was avoiding him wisely, avoiding her, avoiding the team. A cold chill through the hazy air made her shutter. They had seriously almost died. Twice Ripcord had said, once during the jump, she hadn't known it was that serious. Yes, he'd been pissed, but now she fully understood why. Then again tonight... It was the first time she let herself think about it, let the scene replay in her head. She winced, feeling the pistol connect with her temple, feeling the hand close around her throat, shaking off the image. Repeater was back. He wouldn't let anything like that happen. He wouldn't talk to them, wouldn't say what took place, just that he was unconscious, and didn't know what happened to Hotseat. Stood their stoically, their watcher. Repeater was alive, she smiled. That meant there was still a chance for Hotseat. They fell back into the jungle for moving, the deeper cover providing more protection from being see. "Remember!" Ripcord reminded them. "Keep your eyes open for." Gunshot, single rifle, Zap went down, crawling for cover, the rest of the team followed suit, frantically searching the trees for a sniper. She had thought he had just taken cover, until she heard the yelp. 

"FUCK!" A few meters behind him, she could hear Fast Draw cursing, still face down, not having moved for cover. "FUCK! I'm hit! I'm hit!" Her mind instantly flashed back to one split second, wishing it was him and not Repeater. She hadn't said it out loud, but she wanted to take it back. Zap started to low crawl on his belly back to where Fast Draw lay, which only helped the sniper take a clearer shot at him, so he pulled back. "Sonuvabitch Sonuvabitch.." Fast Draw continued with his tirade of swears. She couldn't see where he was hit, but it sounded bad. 

"HOLD FIRE, HOLD FIRE!" Ripcord called, before Repeater had the chance to raise his weapon. "Automatics will bring every Trooper this side of the perimeter!" Where the hell was he? Looking upwards, nothing, but the second any of them moved, a fresh shot would ring out. Minutes ticked. He was toying with them. Trying to draw them to their wounded man. Firing a shot close enough to Fast Draw to kick dirt up. "STAY DOWN!" Ripcord shouted from his position, also scanning frantically for what he'd hoped was a lone, not several gunmen. 

"Hold on buddy, just hold on!" Zap called, but Fast Draw was already on a succession of "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God".then silence. If he went into shock, no doubt they would lose him. Only one thing played out in her head. 

"HEY Hotshot!" She called out. No response from him. "HEY, FAST DRAW, HOTSHOT!" She tried again. "FLORENCE NIGHTENGALE, `MEMBER? GONNA LOOK INTO YOUR EYES, RALLY YOUR STRENGTH?" C'mon C'mon don't die Hotshot She repeated to herself. I don't hate you, really, I don't hate you, just hold on. 

"Mouth to Mouth?" Came the weak cry back. Another gunshot rang out, once again close to where he lay. Relieved, she smiled. 

"Mouth to Mouth, with you?" She shot back. She thought she could see him shake, almost as if he'd laughed. "You just hold on, Hotshot, we're coming okay? You hang on!" 


	7. Chapter 7

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW-CHAPTER SEVEN 

Shit! An infantry squad's worst nightmare. A sniper. Ripcord's mind processed all the information as fast as it could. He already had one man hit. Location of sniper unknown. Fastdraw was lucid and Covergirl was keeping him that way. He had to find the sniper. The trick was doing it with the without the sniper knowing. He had to stop yelling commands out. He crouch-walked forward to where Heavy Metal was. He couldn't make himself a target. He was certain the sniper was head-hunting, that's why Zap was allowed to pass. With the combat equipment and camouflage paint the team was hard to tell apart. Fastdraw was physically closest to Ripcord. But how did they know? Ripcord pushed the speculation away. Right now he needed to save his people, he could worry the rest later. As he reached the prone form of Heavy Metal he dropped down as well and tapped him on the shoulder. He could feel a slight jump as the tanker twisted his body. "Radio." Ripcord whispered as he motioned for the headset. Heavy Metal quickly slipped the headset off and handed it over to Ripcord. Pressing the ear piece and microphone to the side of his face he keyed it. "Fastdraw, can you hear me?" 

"Yeah I hear ya." Came back a response through gritted teeth. 

"I need you to tell me about your wounds." Ripcord said in a hurried response. 

"Well you'll be pissed to know I'm alive. But I'm wounded so it'll be easier for you to finish me off." Fastdraw shot back. 

"Damnit Fastdraw, drop it. I made a mistake. Now if you want some pay back against this sniper, I need you to help me." Ripcord spoke swiftly, knowing he had to hurry to catch the sniper. 

"All right," Fastdraw said after a long pause that had Ripcord worried for a moment. "What you need to know?" 

"Where are you hit, where's the pain?" Ripcord asked. 

"Shoulder, there's pain all in it, front to back." Fastdraw returned. 

"Can you breathe fine? Is your collar bone broken? How big's the hole? Do you feel blood on your back?" Ripcord spoke as fast as he could without losing any of the details. 

"Yeah, my breathing is normal. Collar bone looks intact. Hole's about the size of a dime. Yeah I feel blood on my back." Fastdraw responded quickly. Ripcord strained to remember his first aid training. Dime sized hole. Had to be 5.56mm round. Had an exit wound, not common for a 5.56 unless it was close range. Snipers preferred the high ground. His gaze shifted upwards. The trees. He could just make out where Zap was pressed up against a tree trunk off in the distance. It had to be that one, it would explain why Zap was only fired on when he approached Fastdraw. He was under the sniper's firing arc. But where in the tree? He had to find the exact spot. But he hated the only way he could do. There had to be another way. But despite his best efforts, nothing came to mind. He let out a heavy exhale and shifted up onto a knee, pointing his weapon at the canopy above. Then he felt a knot form in his stomach as he keyed the radio's microphone. 

"Zap," He started, then faltered for a slight moment before pressing forward in a firm voice, "I need you to try to get the sniper to fire. Do you know the rough point where he starts firing on you?" 

"Yeah, I already got my zones staked out amigo." Zap said, his voice steady despite the orders he knew were coming. 

"I need you dart in and out of his firing arc. I need a muzzle flash so I can find him." Ripcord said in lowered tone, feeling as if he was betraying his friend. 

"Not a problem, tell me when you're ready." Zap said, his voice not skipping a beat. 

"Go." Ripcord spoke solemnly. He dropped the headset and brought the G-41 up to his eyes in a swift movement. A flash. A sound. Left. Up. Nothing. Wait. There! Right. Wait. There! Ripcord pulled the trigger. He wasn't expecting what was next. A feminine yelp was heard from the trees followed a second later by a rifle falling from the tree tops. "Move!" Ripcord yelled out before the rifle had hit the ground. Zap and Covergirl rushed forward towards Fastdraw. Both took hold of his ALICE gear and dragged him towards the others, Covergirl reassuring him, until they finally reached the spot where the others had gathered. As soon as they stopped Ripcord knelt down, tearing open Fastdraw's ALICE gear and ballistic vest. The left shoulder of Fastdraw's BDU top was covered in blood. Ripcord quickly worked open the buttons of his BDUs then tore the open the man's brown t-shirt. The blood was oozing out of a hole in the younger soldier's shoulder just above the collar bone. Ripcord slipped his hands from the black utility gloves and press down, running two fingers across his collar bone. He shifted Fastdraw up into a sitting position, noticing another wound in the man's back. A quick glance to the man's ballistic vest showed the bullet still lodged in the inside of the vest's back. It would hurt like a bitch for a few days but he'd be okay for now. Time for damage control. He gaze shifted to Heavy Metal. "Heavy Metal take some battle dressings from Fastdraw's ALICE gear and dress his wounds." He gaze then panned over the rest of his soldiers, "Everybody else, set up a sparse ring perimeter around the tree, if this sonuvabitch comes down I want him. We can't wait any longer than fifteen minutes, in case he got off a transmission. If he doesn't move by then, we do. Move out." The grouped nodded then broke, bleeding back into the jungle. 

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. She was a professional, not one of this organization's flashy uniformed lackeys. She had been hired to train snipers here. This morning her mission changed dramatically. She had been sent out to find the man that had almost killed the base commander. She preferred it that way. On her own, only her rifle as company. She only wished she'd been better informed. These soldiers weren't wearing insignia and wore camouflage paint. That made it harder to identify a soldier that she'd only had a rough description of in the first place. By the time she'd realized her mistake it'd been too late. Unfortunately, the clock couldn't be turned back. She tried to make the best out of a bad situation. She had tried to use the wounded soldier to lure the others other out. Then it happened. As she was lining up to hit the soldier who'd kept running out from under the tree she was in, a white-hot pain exploded in her arm. The sudden intensity of the pain causing the Steyr Aug rifle to slip from her hands. The pain also caused her to forget herself for a moment as a small yelp escaped her lips before she took control of the pain and pushed it away. By the time she had bandaged up her tricep which the bullet had passed through, the soldiers below were gone. She waited and watched. Normally waiting, even for days at a time, didn't matter to her. It was what she did. She was a sniper. But a sniper was nothing without their rifle. Especially her. Her rifle was an extension of her body. A part of her. After ten minutes had passed she felt she could wait no longer. She moved among the branches to where her escape route lay. She quickly hooked the thick nylon rope around the snap link which was attached to the rappelling harness she wore and threw the coiled up rope towards the ground below. Once the rope hit the ground she immediately jumped off the branch. She couldn't afford waste anytime, to take any chances. As she hit the ground and began to unhook her harness, she saw a figure running towards her. A woman. As the woman came to halt and brought up her weapon, Sniper Wolf reacted immediately. Before the female soldier had finished bringing her weapon up Sniper Wolf took hold of the rope and kicked herself off the tree. Her move sent her flying towards the soldier. As the soldier tried in vain to track her, she let go and twisted her body into a spinning hook kick. She felt resistance and saw the kick knock the M-16 from the woman's hands. As soon as she landed and her long blonde hair had cleared from her sight, she flashed out a round kick at the woman. Apparently the woman could fight without a weapon. The female soldier caught the kick and lifted up, forcing Sniper Wolf's rear leg to lose it's footing. A curse in Russian escaped her lips as she recovered and swept her leg out, knocking the soldier off her feet. Sniper Wolf shot forward, landing on top of the woman and driving her elbows into the soldier's chest. As the woman fought to recover the breath that had been knocked from her lungs, Sniper Wolf noticed a bandage on her temple. She saw the weakness. Immediately she shot a hand up and began to claw at the bandage. The woman winced in pain but then gave better that she got. Her left hand reached up and clamped down on Sniper Wolf's damaged tricep, while her other landed a hard right hook to Sniper Wolf's jaw. Sniper Wolf yelped in pain then shot her knee up into the woman's pubic bone, loosening the woman's grip just enough for Sniper Wolf to break free. The woman's team would be there within seconds. She couldn't stay to finish the woman off, she had to run. As she sprinted off into the jungle she shot a look back to the woman. Sniper Wolf wouldn't forget her face. 

"Bitch!" She said through gritted teeth, slamming a fist into the ground as the sniper took off. Not only did the final shot hurt like hell, but it enabled the Sniper to get away. "Fuck!" She brought her knees up first, rolling to her side in a fetal position for a second to breathe, not sure what hurt worst at that point. The gash on her forehead now reopened, blood oozing from beneath the torn bandage now forming a small pool on her eye. She wiped it away often, more to make sure it was just blood and not tears. She had just gotten up on her elbow when Ripcord, Heavy Metal and Zap cautiously approached... weapons drawn. Covergirl pointed in the direction she'd seen the sniper run off in. 

"Court..." He started saying, but cut himself short. He knelt beside her, pointing to Zap and Heavy Metal, then to the woods, indicating they should keep searching. Once alone, he grabbed her hand, placing his other over the stained bandage. "Courtney!" 

"She got away." She replied defeated, wiping the blood once again. "She didn't have their uniform, no Cobra sign, sounded Soviet... How's Fast Draw?" 

"Slow down, slow down. Fast Draw's okay, clean wound. He'll be sore, but fine." He reached into her ALICE grabbing another dressing, putting pressure on her bruised forehead. She cursed softly, more out of anger than pain. She was starting to understand his accept no kryptonite attitude. She softened when she saw his eyes. "What about you?" He asked. 

"Just pissed she got away more than anything." She told him. He nodded, as Zap and Heavy Metal returned. 

"Nothing, not even a trace." Zap told them, making her curse again. Bitch. At least he'd found Covergirl's M-16, returning it to her. 

"Can't worry about it now." Ripcord told them. "They know we're here, the best thing we can do is keep moving." 

"Best thing we can do is pull out..." Heavy Metal muttered. If Ripcord had heard him, the comment was ignored. If command said they stayed, they stayed. She limped for the first few steps, making a quick 'glad I'm not a guy' comment that the three men winced at. A dull pain shot through her bruised bone and she clenched a fist. Bitch. 

"Here's how it's going to go..." Ripcord told them as they regrouped by Heavy Metal. "We're going to double back..." 

"Through the minefield?" From Heavy Metal. "That's crazy." 

"They wouldn't expect it," Ripcord tried explaining. 

"Right, because it's crazy." Heavy Metal shot back. "We've done the mine field, almost three times now, how much longer do you expect luck to hold out?" The lack of sleep and near miss with the sniper was putting everyone on edge. 

"Watch yourself." Was Fast Draw's comment to Heavy Metal. "You piss him off, old Skyboy is likely to shoot..." 

"I told you to knock that shit off..." from Ripcord. 

"C'mon, cool off everyone..." Zap tried. "We've had enough fighting for one day without adding each other." 

"You may be willing to die because this guy says to, but I have something to go home to..." 

"Something to go home to? You sonuvabitch! I got three kids at home..." It was getting ugly. Ripcord shook his head, distancing himself from the situation. 

"Listen, we have to hold this together...." 

"Oh, yeah, you held it together real well yourself, Skyboy..." 

"Would you shut the hell up? He's right...." Covergirl started saying, but Fast Draw cut her off. 

"What a shock... sticking up for her boyfriend...." He emphasized the word boyfriend. "Told you you're going to end up getting yourself killed." Sonuvabitch.. 

"I'm not the one with a bullet hole, Hotshot." 

"HEY." The sound of Repeater's voice instantly quieted the entire team, frozen in their tracks. He stared at each of them for a second, before slowly speaking again. "Hotseat left Ripcord in charge. He calls the shots. We double back." Heavy Metal started to grumble once more, but probably thought twice, remembering the tree incident back at the minefield. They moved slow, they moved cautiously, but they moved, doubling back through the minefield then following the tree line East. Repeater, Heavy Metal and Zap took turns helping Fast Draw, who seemed to complain every step of the way. Patrol. She held her breath. The team becoming more adept at blending in with the jungle. No need for hand signals, they knew what to do. They don't stop, we don't kill. Just another walk through the park. Daylight would be breaking soon. Would be harder to keep from being spotted. Finally Ripcord gave the hold up signal, she saw him flinch as he held up his right arm. 

"Five minutes." He told them indicating they should take a rest. "Zap, buddy, check his wound. The rest of you just..." he coughed twice before finishing. "Just take five." She cursed under her breath, exchanging a worried glance with Zap. He knew it too. Ripcord was hurt and getting worse. "I'll scout ahead..." She knew what that meant. He was still trying to somehow protect them. She made an 'I'll get it.' Gesture towards Zap, who nodded as he checked Fast Draw's bandage. He hadn't gone that far, far enough to be out of sight, out of earshot, leaning up against a tree so he could swear. His right hand clenched in a tight fist, his left supporting his ribcage as he coughed once more, then took a second to catch his breath. "Go wait with the others." He told her, not looking back. 

"Just let me take a look, retape them..." She said softly. 

"I'm..." 

"No. You're not. I see it, Zap sees it. You're not fine. " 

"Listen, I appreciate...." What the hell was he trying to prove? 

"Take your Goddamn shirt off Weems and let me rewrap your fucking ribs before you cough up a lung." Even she was surprised at how sharply it came out. He finally turned to face her, chuckling for a second, a small smile forming on his lips. The anger she had felt just a second before melted, causing her to do the same. She made a "have to work on my bedside manor" comment while helping remove his LC-2, ALICE gear, ballistic vest, BDU jacket and T-shirt. She decided to simply wrap over the existing tape, a two fold reaction. First, so he wouldn't feel the sting of duct tape being removed from bare skin, though sweat and wear and tear had made most of it come loose, but also so she wouldn't have to see the damage again. "Have you coughed up any blood?" She asked softly, fearing the answer. 

"No." He told her, not turning around. "I'd be dead by now if I was." She was wondering if that was supposed to be comforting or not. She stayed behind him, not letting him see the two or three hot tears that streaked down her camo painted face. She wished she was a medic, that she could do something about it. Machines were easier to take care of, something breaks, you fix it. Can't be fixed? Replace it. But no one could replace Ripcord. "It will be fine." He said softly, almost as if he was reassuring himself, not only her. Not facing her either, he pulled down his damp brown T-shirt. "It will be fine." The sound of a heated argument snapped them both back into 'soldier' mode, her running her fingers through the thick camo paint to make sure no tear tracks showed, him grabbing his ALICE gear. "They're going to get us all killed..." Ripcord hissed through clenched teeth as they headed back to the others. They argued about water. Heavy Metal accusing Fast Draw of drinking more than his share. Out of everything, water was in the shortest supply, Ironic, she'd thought, considering the amount of time they were soaking wet. Zap had it under control by the time the two returned. Ripcord surveyed the team, rubbing a hand over tired eyes before deciding their next move. "Heavy Metal, you're with me, we need to get the equipment back up and running, the rest of you grab some sleep, rotating..." 

"Oh come on!" From Heavy Metal. "This is the second time in a row..." 

"Listen, you're the best person I've got as far as operating this equipment goes. If something goes wrong I'll need you there." Heavy Metal grumbled again, but grabbed his gear and headed towards the perimeter with Ripcord. She took first watch, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to sleep, not after what happened just a few hours back, waking up with a gloved hand on her throat... She shook her head, better not to think about it. Zap helped Fast Draw get comfortable before heading over to his own tarp. She watched as he took a small medallion out of his top BDU pocket, clenching it in a tight fist and saying some sort of low prayer, before putting it away. She'd seen him do the same once before after getting out of a tight situation. She smiled, knowing it had to be important to him. He'd given up the picture of his family back at Pope AFB along with his wedding band, keeping the medallion hidden and to himself. The light drizzle that had stayed with them through the night started tapering off as the sun started peaking through the canopy. One hour down. She could wake up Zap, but didn't see a reason. Her adrenaline level from the 'fight or flight' syndrome before was still high, still seeing the sniper's face. Cold, that's the only way she could describe the facial expression. Her hand went up to the damp bandage covering her forehead, damp mostly from the rain rather than blood. She'd been worried about it before, now she knew it was inevitable. It would scar. She shook her head. Stupid thing to be thinking about. At least she'd managed to get a few good shots of her own in before... She dropped to one knee, hearing something. Not footsteps... something, almost like... like whimpering, maybe. Immediately she thought Fast Draw. He was wounded... maybe in pain, but checking his tarp he was sleeping peacefully. To his left, Zap also lay exhausted. 

"NO!" She jumped, swinging her M-16 towards Repeater, who had cried out in a low whisper. She cursed, scanning the area frantically, but saw nothing except for the large man sitting head in hands on the tarp. 

"Hey!" She whispered, jogging towards him. He didn't look up. "Repeater?" Still watching the area, she put a hand on his shoulder. "You... you alright?" He quickly pulled away. He said nothing, just stood up silently, taking his weapon. "This skulking thing is getting a bit old already..." She tried as he walked away. He stopped for a brief second... uttering a single word indicating he'd take the next watch... 

"Sleep." Ripcord's approaching footsteps told her it would have to wait. 


	8. Chapter 8

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER EIGHT

Ripcord hated recon duty. Especially since everything stayed the same. After the first time he'd already learned their guard rotations. No new developments. No change in the cycles. He'd come to know this base like the back of his hand. As the monotony started to become unbearable, his boredom was finally broken as Heavy Metal tapped him on the shoulder. Ripcord turned his head to notice Heavy Metal holding out his radio's headset. More than likely it was HQ wanting yet another sitrep. What was it about 'nothing' they didn't understand? Ripcord pressed the headset to the side of his face and keyed the microphone. "Jaguar three here, over." Ripcord spoke, trying hard not to let his boredom creep into his voice. 

"Ripcord, this is Hawk. I'm not gonna bullshit you son, I've got some bad news." Hawk's voice carried over the headset. 

"....Go head sir." Ripcord spoke finally after faulting for a moment, half of him caught off guard by the General's frankness, the other half worried about what bad news constituted. 

"Your mission has just changed. You're not just recon anymore; you're a sabotage team. I need you to infiltrate the factory complex, destroy it's radar and ADA sites anyway you can. I know your team has wounded and is low on supplies. I also know you have very little demolitions gear. So I'm sure you can understand how hard it is for me to give these orders." There was a long pause. "Can you handle that soldier?" 

".....Yes sir." Ripcord said after a long moment. 

"Okay, I'm not sure how much of a help this to you but building six on your maps is a armory. Maybe you can find additional supplies in there. Good luck. I mean that. Get your people home in one piece." Ripcord remained prone, still pressing the headset to his face after the transmission had finished and just looked out towards the massive MARS complex. This was insane. He couldn't believe what he'd just been ordered to do. He was supposed to assault one of the most heavily guarded complexes he'd ever seen? He pushed the defeatist thoughts away. He couldn't afford to not be focused on the mission. Especially now. If he was distracted when they when in, he could end up getting the whole team killed. He mentally shook himself free of the thoughts. 

"Pack it up Heavy Metal." Ripcord said as he handed the headset back to the tanker. 

"We're pulling out?" Heavy Metal said with huge grin on his face. 

"Pack it up and follow me." Ripcord responded as he made his way towards the others. As he solemnly walked towards the camp, Heavy Metal finally caught up; his eyes brighter and more of a purposeful gait in his steps than there'd been in the whole mission. He saw Covergirl standing and facing him as he approached. She flashed him a quick smile. Ripcord didn't return it. His slow walk came to a halt just in front of her. After letting out a heavy exhale his gaze panned around his sleeping soldiers. As his sight fell back on Covergirl's face, he spoke. "I need you to go around and wake everyone up." 

"Why? What's wro-" She started to say but simply nodded and went around waking up the soldiers. Ripcord watched silently as they packed away their tarps and assembled their gear, some of them still trying to shake off their sleepiness. As they finished everyone walked over to Ripcord and waited for him to speak. 

"Everybody sit down." Ripcord said in almost monotone voice. Once everybody had finally plopped down on the ground, Ripcord let out a sigh then started. "I just got word from HQ, our recon mission has been aborted, we'v-" 

"Hell yeah! We're going home!" Heavy Metal interjected, cutting Ripcord off. Heavy Metal's joy spread throughout the group, bringing smiles to the faces of nearly all of the soldiers. 

"Let me finish," Ripcord started then waited a brief moment before continuing, "We've been redirected to another mission, which involves infiltrating the complex." Ripcord said solemnly. 

"What?!?!" Heavy Metal shouted out as he shot to his feet. 

"You're totally fuckin' insane Skyboy." Fastdraw shot back. Heavy Metal and Fastdraw continued to keep mumbling negative comments. Covergirl and Zap kept their eyes downplayed. Repeater kept his stoic mask. Finally Zap looked up. 

"What's the mission, Ripcord?" he asked in an even voice. 

"We've got to take out the radar and ADA emplacements at the complex. Which means that we've got to enter the perimeter fencing, raid their armory for explosives then somehow destroy the radar and ADA sites. In order for us to make it through this we'll need to be very covert. Just like in the jungle when we first got here. Questions?" No one spoke up. Good. "Alright people, let's go." 

The team had remained motionless for hours, completely hidden in the undergrowth, just inside the tree line. They waited and waited, until at last darkness had set in. Ripcord's eyes gazed out into the night, the light reflecting off of his green eyes as he followed the various headlights and searchlights that swarmed around the factory complex. With all the time that he had spent watching the complex, the timing wasn't a problem. Ripcord carefully eased up to a knee and narrowed his eyes as the followed a STUN running its orbit pattern. He lifted his left arm while his head continued to track to the Cobra vehicle. The STUN was almost on parallel their positions. They had to go now. Ripcord lunged himself forward into a run, motioning forward he went. Suddenly pieces of the jungle seemed to tear away from the tree line as the team sprinted forward. Ripcord fought the pain flaring up in his torso again, trying to push the pain away, he couldn't allow himself to be slowed down, right now his primary enemy was the clock. His gaze shifted from the distant perimeter fence, focusing on two rapidly approaching points of light in the distance. He was running out of time. 30 meters. Had to hurry. 20 meters. He snapped his eyes towards the approaching STUN. It was getting too close. 10 meters. Have to make it, focus on the fence. 5 meters. With a final dive Ripcord leapt forward, and quickly rolled himself in a small drainage ditch that ran along the perimeter fence. Trying to ignore the extra burst of pain that shot through him when he hit the ground, he focused on the ground under him shake as the oversized ATV rolled past. He didn't dare move. After a small eternity dragged past, the STUN finally rumbled by. He quickly shot up to a knee, his gaze passing quickly over the prone forms in the ditch taking stock of his squad. Good. Nobody had fallen behind. His gaze then panned the area in a quick visual sweep. The Vipers in the guard towers seemed oblivious to his team's intrusion. Everything was going according to plan. Time to get down to business. Ripcord turned and motioned Zap forward, this had to be swift and silent, if anyone even breathed loud they were as good as dead. The Hispanic explosives expert nodded and shot forward, pulling out a small pair of wire cutters as he reached the chain link perimeter fence. Ripcord moved his left hand in circling motion as his eyes focused on the next STUN headed their way. Zap worked frantically to cut a hole open in the fencing, knowing he only had a very small window of time. He wasn't fast enough. Ripcord shot his hand putting a death grip on his friend and very forcefully jerked him back into the ditch before dropping prone himself. Ripcord held his breath as the next STUN rolled by. After another long moment, the enemy vehicle finally passed. Wasting no time Ripcord shoved Zap back up to fence, and shot his gaze into the distance again. The next STUN in the rotation was getting dangerously close. Just as he was about to pull Zap down again, Ripcord felt a tap on his shoulder and spun to see a large section of the chain link missing. Ripcord quick leapt from the ditch and climbed through the hole in the massive 12 foot fence. He had to stop for a second as his eyes took in the complex for the first time since he'd gotten close. The buildings seemed almost gigantic from this angle, that and the large amount of flood lights casting eerie shadows across the concrete gave the facility a very ominous presence. Ripcord shook away the thoughts and quickly shrugged off his LC-2 ruck, Fastdraw and Zap followed suit. The two demolitions experts quickly handed most of their token amount of explosives to Fastdraw, who packed the C-4 charges into his ruck. He then signaled for Heavy Metal and Covergirl to follow him. Ripcord watch half of his team run off in the direction of the outdoor storage area and shot Covergirl a quick smile and thumbs up. Ripcord then turned to face Repeater and Zap, nodding to each of them before they disappeared into the shadows around the complex. As they moved from one set of stacked crates to another for cover, Ripcord's thoughts began to wander. He hoped Covergirl and her team could buy him and his team enough time. Covergirl was going to sabotage a few vehicles to divert attention from his raid on the armory to get enough explosives to bring down the radar and ADA sites. How exactly he was going to go about that was still up in the air. He was taking this plan one step at a time. 

Marklov grinded his eyes. Ever since Croc Master and Sniper Wolf had been medievaced out of the complex, he'd been order to personally see to the security of this base. Which meant that he'd been practically living in the control center for two days. It had been just as long since anything had been reported or any unit had failed to report in. Maybe this team had finally gotten smart and had left the area. He shook his head and took another sip of the bitter coffee Cobra issued. It tasted like shit but at least it had enough caffeine to keep you awake for hours on end. He let his eyes wander around the room, taking in the same Televipers, Technovipers, and computers that he'd been looking at for hours. He tried to focus on the various reports coming through the speakers but he couldn't. Besides it was the same thing 'all clear', 'no sig- 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Marklov's body jumped, causing him to spill some of the rancid coffee on himself as the blood curdling scream tore through the airwaves. He shot to his feet, letting the coffee mug drop to the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces. 

"Where the hell did that come from!?!?" Marklov shouted out. 

"Guard Four-Three, a lone Crimson Guardsman in one of the guard towers," The Televiper faltered for a moment not believing his own words, coming out more as a question than a statement, "inside the perimeter?" 

"Try to reestablish contact!" Marklov barked out. 

"Guard Four-Three, respond with situation, over." The Televiper spoke into his microphone in a shaky voice. No answer came back. Marklov spit out a curse in Russian before scooping up his yellow visored helmet and locking it down on his black and red uniform. 

"Signal the alert. Order all personnel to battle stations." Marklov spat out in a swift sentence, as he jabbed a finger in the direction of the nearest Televiper. 

Ripcord cursed to himself as he withdrew his knife from the chest of the Crimson Guardsman. His scream was too loud. Ripcord was sure someone in area heard it. He would have preferred to just pass by the enemy soldier as he'd been doing for most of their dangerous trek, slipping from shadow to shadow, but he had to kill this one. He'd noticed him aiming his weapon, a scoped SVD rifle out towards the outdoor storage area. Ripcord knew the sniper had to be aiming at his team. Ripcord began to climb back down the ladder when it happened. In hindsight Ripcord would have prefer if just the people close to the sniper had heard him. Suddenly the blaring of an alarm and blinking red lights brought the complex to life. 

"All personnel, All personnel, intruder alert, intruder alert, battle stations, intruders are inside the complex, I say again intruders are inside the complex." A voice crackled over a PA system. 

"Shit!" Ripcord hissed aloud. There goes any advantage they had. Ripcord quickly swung his hands and feet to the outside of the ladder slid down it rather that waste valuable time climbing. As he hit the ground, he stumbled backwards a few steps cursing under his breath after the impact had jarred his already damaged ribs. He quickly reoriented himself, seeing Zap and Repeater who were waving him forward frantically. Ripcord quickly started to sprint over towards his teammates but spun as he heard additional foot steps behind him. Two more Crimson Guardsmen. Ripcord quickly rose the captured G-41 and fired bursts at the approaching enemies. Between Ripcord and his teams' fire the two Cobras fell backwards as sprays of crimson that matched their uniforms flew into the air. Ripcord immediately spun to his original direction. He and his teams broke into a dead run for the armory. Damnit! Two guards. Three more running towards it. Ripcord winced as he dove prone and raised his weapon towards the closest armory guard. He heard Repeater's big M-60 open up as he sighted and fired a burst, rewarded with several eruptions of blood from the nearest Crimson Guardsman before he fell backwards. He then saw the second guard fall a split second after the first. A cursory glance out to his side showed three Vipers sprawled out on the ground nearby. Ripcord ignored the pain in his torso as best he could and he struggled to his feet. He sprinted the rest of the way to the personnel door of the armory with Zap and Repeater hot on his heels. He slid to stop on a knee and quickly pulled out some of the little remaining C-4 composition he had left. Behind him he heard Zap's M-16 and Repeater's M-60 open up. He couldn't look back, he had to focus on the door. Ignoring the two bodies of the Crimson Guardsmen, he quickly pressed the gray putty-like material up against the door's lock and jammed a small blasting cap into the C-4. Still ignoring the sound of firefight behind him he leaned away from the lock and pressed a button on the detonator. The small bang sound of the explosive was lost over the noise of the raging gunfire. Ripcord shot to his feet and landed a kick into door, which swung open and sent bits of metal flying from the destroyed lock. "Move!" He yelled to his teammates, seeing the outlines of five Vipers crouching down behind a stack of crates. Ripcord stepped clear of the door frame sprayed the Viper's positions with gunfire as Repeater and Zap and slipped inside. As he heard the horrible sound of the bolt dry firing, Ripcord ran through the door as well. "Dog it Zap!" He yelled as he stepped inside and slid clear of the door. He saw Zap begin to strain to move a crate in front of the door before Ripcord's gaze took in the insides of the armory. They were in a central hallway. Sliding metal doors lined the hallway, each marked with a number and name stenciled onto it. Judging from the names on the doors he assumed each room held different type of weapon. He gaze fell on a door marked 'DEMOLITION COMPOSITIONS #1' further door the corridor. He immediately took off in that direction. He heard someone, most likely Repeater hot on his heels as he ran door the hallway. Suddenly one of the doors directly beside Ripcord marked 'ASSAULT RIFLES #1' slid back and four Crimson Guardsmen ran into the hallway. Ripcord spun to face the on coming guards, seeing one of the Crimson Guardsmen thrown sideways as heavy shells from Repeater's M-60 slammed into the Cobra's body. Ripcord raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. He had completely forgotten it had just ran empty. The Crimson Guardsman thrust the bayonet attached to his FN-FAL rifle towards Ripcord. The Joe immediately slid away from the thrust and dropped his rifle, it wouldn't help any until the magazine was changed. The enemy then thrust the bayonet to the opposite side. Ripcord again slid away at the last breath of a moment. Ripcord was about to flash out a kick at the enemy when the Crimson Guardsman brought the butt of his rifle down against the side of Ripcord's kevlar. The unexpected blow sent Ripcord sprawling backwards onto the ground. As he saw the Cobra start to dive forward Ripcord immediately reached down and start to withdraw his knife. The Cobra landed on Ripcord before the knife was free. Ripcord fought for air, both the enemy's dive and his rifle against Ripcord's throat weren't making the task easy at all. Ripcord finally freed the knife and jabbed it upwards as his left arm swung over the top the enemy's head. The blade went into and through the enemy's neck. Ripcord ignored the sickening gurgling sound and the blood dropping onto his chest as pulled the knife to his right while his left elbow slammed in the side of Cobra's helmet, causing the knife to tear free from the side of the Cobra's neck. Ripcord quickly slammed his knee into the corpse, freeing himself from under the body. He looked up in time to see another Crimson Guardsman gunned down, this time by Zap. He also saw a Crimson Guardsman try to bat Repeater's M-60 away, only to be have Repeater grab the Cobra by his neck and fling him forcefully against the opposite wall. Ripcord heard an audible snap as the enemy soldier slammed in the wall beside him head first. Ripcord turned his head to the left and right, visually scanning the area. Four hostiles down, Zap had blocked the door, and everyone seemed fine. Good. Ripcord didn't need another monkey wrench thrown into the works. Ripcord painfully got to his feet after scooping up his weapon and took a moment to change the magazine. He was about to head for the explosives room again when a voice stopped him. 

"Don't shoot, I'm coming out. I'm unarmed." Called out a voice with a slight Texas drawl to it. The three soldiers moved to cover the doorway the Crimson Guardsmen had burst from and tensed as a fifth one walked out, his arms above his head. Before anyone could say anything, the Crimson Guardsman spoke again. "I'm Agent Scott Wolfe, I'm with the C.I.A, I'm a deep cover operative was assigned infiltrate Cobra." The man spoke. 

"Bullshit. Prove it." Ripcord hissed. 

"Well Specialist Wallace A. 'Wally' Weems, U.S. Army from Columbus, Ohio AKA Ripcord," the man began, "I don't know if they taught you anything during your six years in the Army with the 82nd Airborne Division about undercover work but it's not exactly like we get to carry C.I.A. credentials around with us during deep cover operations." 

"What are you doing here?" Ripcord asked, still keeping his G-41 trained on the man. 

"I had orders by both the C.I.A. and G.I. Joe to infiltrate various facilities and report back to them. How do you think Hawk knew this particular building was an armory?" Wolfe asked. He continued before any of the Joes could answer. 

"But the important thing is that I have information you need to know. First off both the ADA sites and the radar can be taken offline by destroying both the power generator and its backup which are in the second basement of the command and control building. Secondly your NCOIC, Hotseat, was taken captive and is being held in the first basement." The thought of Hotseat being alive perked up all of the Joes. But anything else meant to be said was cut short. Suddenly gunfire erupted from the opposite end of the hallway. In their haste to get inside and find the explosives, they'd forgotten to block the door at the other end of the building. An assortment of various Cobra soldiers were pouring through. The Joes all instantly dropped prone and began to fire at the Cobras. Wolfe dropped prone as well and picked up one of the dead Crimson Guardsmen's FN-FAL rifles. 

"Well Agent Wolfe it looks like I've got no choice!" Ripcord shot back over the noise of gunfire, without taking his eyes away from lining up and firing on the Cobras. 

"Good answer! You and Zap move up to get the explosives! Me and Repeater will cover you! I know a way to get us out of this building and to the generators once you get back!" Wolfe shot back as he began to pick off Cobras that popped out from under Repeater's field of suppressive fire. 

Anger raced through her. They had to be out of their minds. They wanted them to take out radar and ADA... couldn't they maybe have mentioned this when they first got there? Instead they leave them in the jungle for what... five, six days? She lost count a while back. Then when almost all supplies were exhausted, after they lost their Sergeant, after Fast Draw got shot, after Ripcord was getting worse, then they decide to have them... She shook her head. Negative thinking would get them no where. It didn't matter. He called the shots, Ripcord. Walked them through, by the numbers... 

"We've got to take out the radar and ADA emplacements at the complex. Which means that we've got to enter the perimeter fencing, raid their armory for explosives then somehow destroy the radar and ADA sites. In order for us to make it through this we'll need to be very covert. Just like in the jungle when we first got here. Questions?" No one spoke up. "Alright people, let's go." She had to smile. 'alright people,' it was something Hotseat would've said. Two teams, she was on cover with Fast Draw and Heavy Metal. Outdoor storage area. Create distraction. She kept her head down while he spoke, not making eye contact, not wanting to see what was written on his face. Even the thumbs up and smile he shot her before the two teams broke off brought little comfort, but she returned them both just the same. 

We got a lot going for us Fast Draw commented, as the three low crawled towards the large lot. She could tell he was trying to keep his mind off the pain. 

First, it's a large complex we're a small team. 

Heavy Metal retorted. That means that we're outnumbered. 

And second He continued, ignoring the comment. This place was built like a vault, meant to keep people out, not in. 

People get locked inside of vaults, then they're both trapped and running out of air... 

Would you both just Out of nowhere, sirens, alarms started blaring.... 

"All personnel, All personnel, intruder alert, intruder alert, battle stations, intruders are inside the complex, I say again intruders are inside the complex." A voice crackled over a PA system. 

"What the fuck happened?" Heavy Metal yelled above the din. The three took fast cover by the side of one of the Stingers, Fast Draw taking a second to set a charge. She strained to see through the darkness, something must've happened. The other team must've been spotted, they must've... "Focus, Babe!" Fast Draw told her, pulling her into the side of the vehicle. "Remember? Focus." She shook her head. He was right. The other team would be fine. They would be fine. Searchlights began flooding the area, causing a barrage of curses from both Heavy Metal and Fast Draw. Fast Draw barked out directions, commands of which way to go to avoid the lights, knowing their luck couldn't hold out. "Go, Go, Go!" he yelled, pushing them further into the rows of vehicles for cover. Sporadically, he'd remove a C-4 from his pack, arming it and placing it by the vehicle's clutch. Covergirl covered as Fast Draw made the rounds, while Heavy Metal readied a HiSS for cover, just in case. They made nearly an entire sweep of the lot, before one of the search lights fell directly on the two. Gunshots from behind made them change direction, before hitting the ground for cover. Fast Draw yelped as the force of hitting the ground strained his already aggravated wound. Covergirl grabbed his ALICE and half-dragged him the rest of the way behind a Stinger, as he lay cursing on the ground. She dropped him with an audible thud as she saw the three Crimson Guardsmen raise their weapons, raising hers in defense. 'One shot' didn't even get a chance to play in her head as she pulled the trigger, hitting the center guard dead in the chest. The other two guards dove for cover as did she and Fast Draw, who could still be heard cursing. This was definitely not good. 

I'm gonna draw their fire. If you can get to Heavy Metal, you can use the turret 

Whoa, slow down, Babe. You aren't going to draw fire 

I'm faster. Don't be getting all tough guy on me now, Hotshot! 

I'm calling the shots, I draw fire. You drive, he shoots 

Listen, we probably have about 30 seconds before those two guards become 20 The realization set in as he started to ready himself for the run. Those two guards would be 20. 20 with access to vehicles, lots of them. She took a deep breath in, gave Fast Draw a quick blow to the back by his exit wound, causing him to curse and hit the deck. Before giving him the chance to recover, she took off, making her way between vehicles, drawing closer to the guards. Each time she would advance, the guards would fire, Fast Draw would back closer to the HiSS. Gunshots ripped into the vehicle behind her which she used for cover, causing her to draw forward once more. She was getting too close, running low on ammo what the hell was taking Fast Draw so long maybe he was hit, maybe they realized she was just a decoy. At least she hadn't promised Ripcord she thought. She hadn't promised him. The sound of the Twin Diablo's made her breathe a sigh of relief. Fast Draw had made it. An explosion to her left made her dive for cover, but afforded her a clear shot at the two stunned Crimson Guard soldiers. A second and third explosion let her know more soldiers had reached the compound. She knew they didn't trap every vehicle, she only hoped fear would keep the rest from trying. She opened the door to the Stinger closest to her, but froze they all looked a like. Checking to make sure there was no C-4 device, she hopped inside. It looked actually a lot like the VAMP MKII, the controls being situated in the same area. The 8 horses under the hood didn't give it the same low rumble as the VAMP, but the vehicle itself did appear to be shorter, lighter. She didn't have much time to admire Cobra's craftsmanship, the Stuns which had been patrolling the outer perimeter started advancing. Two missiles were all she got off before they fired in return. Another explosion to the far right, they were still trying the vehicles. She cursed as she drove around two more unoccupied HiSS tanks to get a better run at the Stuns. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the HiSS driven by Heavy Metal finally start to move. She shook her head. Plans said it handled like an Abrams. What the hell was this guy's deal? Missiles down. She patted the dashboard a quick thanks before abandoning the vehicle for a fresh one. Fast Draw and Heavy Metal, now in full control of the HiSS were keeping most of the troops at bay, but the stragglers getting through now started heading towards the tanks they hadn't tagged many of the tanks. She cursed softly as she lined up the HiSS vehicles methodically, launching one missile after the next. The explosions prevented her from hearing the engine start up on the second Stinger, the one brave Cobra who made it through, finding an untagged vehicle. She saw the missile launched, no weapons left, no time to bail. Things seemed like they were happening in slow motion She closed her eyes and pulled hard on the wheel, accelerating at the same time. Don't be tagged, don't be tagged, don't be tagged She whispered out loud as her Stinger slammed into another parked vehicle, causing it to flip over on its side. Two Cobra rockets whistled overhead. Still not breathing, she climbed out of the vehicle and jumped, seconds before the third Stinger missile slammed into the crippled medium. At least they were serving their purpose, she thought to herself. They were bringing a lot of attention to the area. Now all they had to do was hold them off, until Ripcord and his boys came through on their end. 


	9. Chapter 9

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW- CHAPTER NINE 

After some hesitation at the very real possibility that Wolfe could be lying Ripcord finally started his painful low-crawl towards the explosives room. He and Zap made their way carefully forward, staying as low against the concrete floor as they could. It felt like it was taking forever to reach the large metal door but it was better than the alternative. Ripcord knew if he stood up he was done for. The crossfire was too intense. It was bad enough that more often than he preferred he heard the high pitch crack of near misses of saw bits of concrete fly up. Finally after the longest 15 meters he'd ever crawled came to a stop he heard Zap shout out. 

"Blow the lock! I'll cover you!" Zap yelled over the near deafening sound of gunfire in the enclosed space. Ripcord nodded and carefully rose to knee and began to take another small clump of C-4 out of his remaining block. He shot a quick glance over Zap who shifted his hands forward to the M-203 40mm grenade launcher under slung from the barrel of his M-16. Ripcord immediately dropped the C-4 and shot his hands up to his ears and let his mouth hang open. There was a high pitched popping sound followed almost immediately by a thunderous explosion. Further down the hall the Cobras disappeared in a could of smoke, fire, and shrapnel. Ripcord immediately scooped up the clump of C-4 off of the floor and pressed it against the heavy door's lock. He tried to focus on the task despite the ringing in his ears. As he pressed a small blasting cap into the demolition composition he heard gunfire erupting again. "Madre del dio! Do they never stop?" Zap hissed as his shifted his hands back to the M-16's trigger and began to fire on the next set of Cobras that were pouring into the corridor. Trying his best to ignore the sounds of the firefight, Ripcord leaned away from the door and hit the button on the detonator. The small bang of the C-4 was completely lost over the roar of gunfire. Without wasting any time, Ripcord immediately flung the door back and shot his hand towards Zap. Ripcord forcefully jerked Zap into the room and darted in behind the soldier. With himself and his friend finally out of the crossfire, he took a quick moment to let his eyes take in the room. There was enough material in the room to level half a city. Ripcord shook away his awe and quickly shrugged off his LC-2 ruck and begin to stuff it with as many blocks of C-4 and count-down detonators as he could fit. While waiting for Zap to finish packing his deadly cargo, Ripcord took another glance around the room. He let a grin creep onto his face as his eyes fell on a shelf that held their ticket to safely reach Repeater and Wolfe again. SATCHEL CHARGE INCENDIARY, read the small sign hanging down above the shelf. Ripcord immediately slung his G-41 and scooped up two of the bulky olive drab bags. He quickly ran to edge of the doorway and pulled a cords out from each of the satchel charges and hurled the potent explosives down the hallway. As soon as the second charge left his grip he immediately dropped prone. 

"Fire in the hole!" Ripcord yelled out to Zap. 

"Oh shit!" Zap yelled as he dove to the floor and covered his ears. If the explosion of the relatively small 40mm grenade sounded thunderous in the tight confines, then the massive back to back explosions of the satchel charges sounded almost catastrophic. After the building stopped shaking, Ripcord slowly got to his feet and tried in vain to shake his head clear of its cobwebs. He saw the flickering light of fire in the main corridor and stumbled out of the explosives room, still not fully aware of his surroundings. The instant he stepped into the hallway he felt searing heat. He slow panned his head to right. He was impressed. The fire literally went from the floor to ceiling and from one wall to the other. Secondary fires were burning everywhere. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or the heat waves playing tricks on him but the concrete at the edges of the fire actually appeared to be bubbling. He shook away what little of the haze he could and stumbled back towards Repeater and Wolfe. He saw both of the two slowly stand then quickly sprint over towards him. He saw Wolfe remove the Crimson Guardsman helmet then move his mouth up and down but Ripcord couldn't hear anything. The ringing in his ears was too loud. Repeater put one of his big hands on Ripcord's shoulder and began to shake him. Finally the fog surrounding Ripcord's thoughts cleared a little. He could make out what Wolfe was saying. 

"Are you two alright?!" Wolfe shouted. Two? Oh. Zap. Ripcord had completely forgotten about his friend during all the commotion. A quick glance over his shoulder told him what he needed to know. Much like himself, his friend was a little shaken but physically seemed fine. 

"Yeah, we're alright." Ripcord returned. 

"Good, we need to get the hell outta here." Wolfe said before pointing to the raging inferno further down the hall, "That fire may hold out for a while," he said then jerked his thumb back to the barricaded door, "But that makeshift blockade there won't." Wolfe finished before putting the Crimson Guardsman helmet back on. 

"So how do we get out?" Zap asked as he physically shook himself in an attempt to clear his head. 

"There." Wolfe said, pointing to a grate on the floor a few feet away, "You think you can blow it?" Ripcord shook away some more of the fog in his head. He had to focus. He bent down and examined the grating. The grating was arranged in a tight grid of metal rods. It wouldn't be a problem at all. Ripcord painfully stood, the fire in his ribs breaking through his daze, and ran back to the explosives room. After some searching he found was he was looking for. Shaped cutting charges. He quickly scooped up the explosives, blasting caps, and detonators and ran back out the hallway. As he and Zap set to work on rigging the grating Ripcord heard a banging noise over the roar of the fire and shot a glance to the barricaded door. It was buckling. They wanted back in. Ripcord focused his attention on the cutting charge again. Running out of time seemed to becoming a common occurrence. 

"Fire in the hole!" Ripcord yelled as he backed away from the grating. Everyone scattered as he pressed the button on the detonator. The grate disappeared in cloud smoke as the explosive went off, followed a moment later by a clatter of reverberating metal and the splash of water. Ripcord shot forward and shined a flashlight through the open hole, seeing a circular metal tunnel with a small stream of water running along in it. "What's down here Wolfe?" Ripcord asked as he panned the light around. 

"It's a drainage system. Controls rain run off." Wolfe returned. 

"Okay, let's g-" Ripcord started, but stopped himself as he looked up and realized he was one short. "Where's Zap?" Ripcord asked in a concerned voice. 

"Right here!" Came the answer as the soldier ran out of the explosives room with a half-full duffle bag in one hand. "Just had an idea." Zap stated as he ran past the team and towards the door that the Cobras were trying to breach. Ripcord started to ask the soldier what he was doing when Zap removed two items from the duffle bag. A spool of wire and a big, flat olive drab plastic rectangle. Ripcord had to smile at his friend's idea. It was a M-18 Claymore directional anti-personal mine. 

"Move it Zap!" Ripcord yelled as he watched the soldier set up the mine. His gaze shot over to Wolfe and motioned him forward. While helping Wolfe down into the tunnels, Ripcord's gaze shifted between Zap running the wire and the quickly buckling door. "Zap! We are leaving!" Ripcord said as Wolfe eased him into the tunnel and Zap and Repeater disappeared from his view. Ripcord quickly twisted left and right, shining his light down both ends of the tunnel. The water was only ankle deep, the tunnel was about 8 foot diameter cylinder, it had various upwards off shoots, and most importantly, it looked devoid of life. Good. The trip shouldn't be too much of a problem. With the tunnel's security confirmed Ripcord's gaze immediately shot upwards. After what felt like an eternity Zap's legs finally appeared dangling into the hole. Ripcord and Wolfe both reached up and helped the Hispanic explosives expert down. As soon as Zap was clear Repeater's massive body squeezed through the hole and he was helped down by the others. "Which way?" Ripcord turned and asked Wolfe once everyone had been accounted for. 

"This way." The CIA agent responded by pointing down the tunnel with the barrel of his FN-FAL. Ripcord started to say something but a slightly muffled explosion was heard and Ripcord shot his gaze upwards. The Cobras had hit the Claymore. Ripcord ignored the explosion and looked back to Zap. 

"Zap, light." Ripcord said as he watched his friend unhook the bent-neck flashlight from his ALICE gear and handed it to Ripcord. "You know this system, so you're on point." Ripcord said as he handed Wolfe the flashlight. Ripcord additionally didn't trust Wolfe but he felt he didn't need to voice that opinion. The CIA agent nodded and started to jog off with the light in one hand and his rifle in the other. The Joes fell in behind Wolfe in single column, with Ripcord and Repeater snapping their ALICE mounted flashlights on. As the jogged along they hear sounds of muffled explosions, alarms, and shouting filtering in from grates, that from the night sky and rain that came through them, had to be outside. Ripcord hoped the others and especially Covergirl were alright. His thoughts were interrupted as Zap called out. 

"Hold up." He said as he produced the wire spool and another Claymore from the duffle bag. He swiftly went about the task of setting up another trap. "Done." He called out. The column began to jog through the tunnels again. The tunnels started to get very twisted in short order which several intersections. At the various intersections Zap would again hold up the team to set another mine. Shortly after which, a muffled explosion would be heard. After a while Wolfe finally held the team up. 

"Here," The CIA agent said, pointing upwards, "This grate is right outside the Command and Control Center, it's as close as we can get. The building itself doesn't have any drainage grates." 

"Alright," Ripcord said with a nod before he turned to Repeater, "Lift me up there so I can set the charges." Repeater's response came in the form of swiftly lifting Ripcord up onto his shoulders. Ripcord carefully shifted his feet onto Repeater's shoulders and pulled the cutting charges out of his ruck and began to carefully place them on the bottom of the grate. Roughly halfway through the process Ripcord heard gunfire coming from below. 

"Hurry up Ripcord!" Came a shouted response from Zap. Ripcord shot his hands up to the grating and put a white knuckled grip on the bars. 

"Repeater! Get down!" Ripcord shouted, Kicking his feet up to press against the wall of the small drainage duct, as Repeater dropped prone below him. He locked out his joints, pressing his feet and back against the duct's walls for support. Then let go and worked as quickly as possible to finish putting the charges in place, trying to ignore the raging firefight below. He finally finished and pressed a blasting cap into the charges before gripping the grating again. He let his legs drop, and bend his knees. "Incoming!" Ripcord shouted as he let go of the grating. If you knew how to land, a 12 foot fall was nothing. One of the first things you learned in jump school was how to land. Unfortunately, Ripcord never jumped with damaged ribs. He landed perfectly on the balls of his feet, letting his joints bend to absorb the impact. Everything was fine till the impact hit his ribs. White hot pain shot through Ripcord's body and he immediately lost his balance and fell into the water. Ripcord tried in vain to ignore pain in his chest and let out a low moan after a failed attempted to crawl himself forward. He felt himself being dragged backwards and looked up to see Repeater, still firing his M-60 with one hand, dragging him away from under the grating. Ripcord managed to cough out "F...Fire..." that was all he got out before Repeater's deep voice filled in for him. 

"Fire in the hole!" The big machine gunner shouted as he inched back little more and slid Ripcord along with him. Ripcord slowly panned his head around. Everyone was clear. He hit the button on the detonator. A sharp explosion sounded followed by the grating clattering into the tunnel a moment later. Ripcord carefully shifted his weight and pulled himself up onto his hands and knees. A glance down the tunnel finally showed him what the others were firing at. A few Range Vipers kept darting in and out from around a bend in the tunnel. Carefully again, coughing all the way, he pushed himself back onto his knees. Drawing in a big breath and fighting the urge to cough more, his shaky hands fumbled a grenade free of his ALICE gear. In any equally uncertain motion he pulled the pin free and let the spoon fly off. One. Two. Summoning his strength he threw the grenade in a sideways arc down the tunnel, letting a war cry escape his lungs in the process. The grenade impacted against the bend in the tunnel, a scant ten meters from his team's position. It then bounced back off of the metallic wall with a dull sound, at an angle that caused it to disappear around the corner. Almost immediately after it had left his sight a deafening explosion reverberated through the drainage system. As the effects of blast started to wear off Ripcord nodded in grim satisfaction. Ripcord turned to Repeater as the pain in his torso started to wear off somewhat. 

"Help Wolfe get up there," Ripcord started shaky but let his voice grow in firmness as he continued. "We've got to get to the Command and Control Center right now. We're running out of time." Repeater nodded and immediately stepped under the drainage duct. Wolfe stepped forward and Repeater lifted him up onto his shoulders and through the hole where the grating just was. Ripcord then stepped forward as followed suit. As he emerged his eyes took in the complex again. The Control Center was just 20 meters away. But his eyes focused on several columns of smoke raising from the outdoor storage area. That and the strobing effect lighting up the night sky in that area confirmed his thoughts that the explosions they'd heard while in the tunnels were the other team. Once again Ripcord's thoughts wandered to Covergirl before he snapped himself back to reality. He and Wolfe moved to the sides of the hole to help pull Zap up when the darkness around then was suddenly lifted. Ripcord's eyes shot upwards. He mentally kicked himself for not noticing the helicopter noises earlier. Three FANGs hovered above, all pointing search lights at the two. They were dead. Correction. He was dead. Ripcord glanced over at Wolfe who had stood and was pointing the FN-FAL at him. 

"It's over Joe," Wolfe said, his Texas drawl replaced with a thick Germanic accent, "Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head." 

"You bastard..." Ripcord trailed off. 

"You shouldn't have been so naive. Now drop it." Wolfe stated matter of factly. Ripcord didn't have much of a choice. He let the G-41 clatter to the ground and slowly moved his hands on top of his kevlar. Hopefully Zap and Repeater were getting away at this moment. With Ripcord 'subdued' The FANGs flew off in the direction of the outdoor storage area. 

"I hope you burn for this moth-" Ripcord started to hiss out, but stopped as Wolfe lowered the FN-FAL. 

"What?" Wolfe said, using his Texas drawl again, "Did you really think the two of us could have stopped three FANGs with only two assault rifles? Now let's get the others up and get to the generators." Keeping a cautious eye on Wolfe, Ripcord knelt down and the two pulled Zap up onto the concrete. As Ripcord started to pull a length of rope free from his ruck he looked over at Zap. 

"Zap call the others, tell them that we're at the Command and Control Center." Ripcord said as he lowed the rope down to Repeater. As he and Wolfe braced themselves and began to haul the big machine gunner up, he over heard Zap's transmission. 

"This is Zap, if you guys can hear me we're entering the Command and Control Center." 

"Copy Zap. We'll give you some help as soon as." The sound of a nearby explosion made Fast Draw stop short. "As soon as we can." He finally continued. She was in between vehicles at the time, freezing beside a STUN when Zap's call came in. She would've felt better if she heard his voice, Ripcord's, would've known then that he was okay. He had to be okay, she told herself, hopping into the nearby STUN. Stinger's were becoming few and far between, she didn't trust herself to remember which were tagged, which weren't. Few STUNs had been hit with C-4's, the only problem was that she'd barely ever seen one before, let alone driven one. It was nothing like the vehicles she was used to. Three wheeled, quad heavy machine guns, cannon control monitors, it took her a minute to orient herself to the controls. A minute they didn't have. Three FANG choppers were bearing down towards the HiSS occupied by Fast Draw and Heavy Metal. It was almost as if they didn't see them, the HiSS continued it's firing pattern on two Ferrets which had joined the fight. She tried the strange controls one final time, moving the smaller craft into position. Three FANGs. Three shots were all she needed She slid to the seat on her right, grabbing the 12.7mm heavy machine gun turret, swinging in towards the helicopters. SHIT! Too late, one of the FANGs fired. From the corner of her eye, she saw Heavy Metal pull hard left, the small LAW-like missile near hitting them before slamming into a tagged Stinger. The rapid fire from her STUN took out two of the small helicopters, the third managing evasive maneuvers before succumbing to a few rounds from Fast Draw. She continued in her circling pattern, growing more confident of the STUN's controls, increasing speed to avoid the advancing troops, drawing fire, then returning it periodically. A gunner would have been good, but with just three people, it just wasn't possible. The sudden downpour did nothing to slow the all terrain vehicle, which still cornered well on the pavement. The Stinger that clipped her back wheel on the other hand, stopped it all together. It seemed to shoot out of nowhere, the driver of the vehicle looking just as stunned as Covergirl, who fought a losing battle to keep the STUN upright. Kicking over on it's right side, she was thrown from the vehicle, landing hard on the left side of her body. The same rain she had cursed now became a saving grace. The rain settling on top of the thin slick of oil on the pavement caused her to hydroplane a few meters, before rolling to a stop. The slight road rash she felt stinging her left shoulder, elbow and thigh would have practically torn her apart on dry tarmac. All was quiet for a brief second as she lay on the ground assessing the damage. Warily, she stood leaning on a vehicle for support, starting to unholster her M-1911. She knew she was sore, but that she would be all right. The same Motor Viper tried to prove her wrong. She looked up to see she was only a few feet from him, the same viper who had rammed her. His G-41 raised, time seemed to stand still for a second as he squeezed the trigger. Her thoughts raced to Ripcord, sleeping peacefully. She had just meant to sit beside him for a moment after her shift was up. Hadn't meant to fall asleep so close. The scene played out in her head as she waited for the hail of bullets that never came. JAM! His weapon jammed! She reached frantically for her sidearm as the Viper tackled, leaping forward, knocking her backwards into the Stinger. The two fell to the ground, the stronger Viper quickly rolling on top of her, placing both hands around her throat. She instinctively grabbed his wrists, as he squeezed tighter, cutting off her oxygen. She tried twice to kick him off, to raise a knee to catch his groin, but he had both legs pinned well. Self defense kicked in to take over where self preservation was failing. She spun her head quickly to the right, making it impossible for the Viper to continue choking her. Grabbing a much needed breath, she dropped her one hand to her side, reaching for her weapon. The Viper was smart, He released her throat with his left hand, grabbing her right hand and pinning it to the ground, preventing her from grabbing the sidearm. Not smart enough. Shifting his weight enabled her to kick a leg free, slamming her knee upwards into his groin. She knew from experience how much it hurt, could only figure it would be worse for a male. His left hand clenched harder on her throat, but the second his right released her was all she needed. Her hand went immediately to the weapon, drawing it out and pressing it into his side in one swift motion. She wasn't sure how many times she'd pulled the trigger, staring into the Motorvipers reflective faceplate. It took her a second to make that realization, that the eyes she was seeing were actually her own. Was much easier to just shut them, which is what she did until the Viper's clenched hand finally released her throat, letting her know it was over. She opened her eyes and kicked out from under him. Once again, she shakily stood up, sidearm drawn and ready this time. She looked around to find Fast Draw and Heavy Metal. No sign of the HiSS, but there was a lone Stinger firing missiles towards advancing troops. The sudden explosions behind her let her know Fast Draw was out, setting more charges, this time attacking the HiSS tanks themselves. More troops were coming from the west. Fuck. She'd kill for a Ghoststriker flyby about now. Little air support would just do the trick. Of course they wouldn't get it, SOP and all. She shook her head. They could do this. They had to do this. She hopped into another STUN, now having the feel for how they operate. She spotted Fast Draw who stuck out a thumb in a mock hitch-hiking gesture. 

"Obnoxious fuck" she said to herself as she slowed down to let him climb in. He immediately took the heavy machine gun to her left, firing towards both the troops and the vehicles themselves, try to cause as much damage as possible. Once in a while, he'd toss out a grenade, slamming into missile platforms causing explosion after explosion. She'd always liked it loud, this was getting out of hand. A few louder explosions went off in the distance behind them the Command Center Shit! Some of the same Cobra troops which were advancing started falling back, heading towards the Command Center. Ripcord hadn't given the all clear command, she knew they needed more time. Wishing once again she were more like Zap, she created a make shift prayer as she headed towards the withdrawing troops. She slid as far down as she could in the open cockpit, pulling on Fast Draw to do the same. 

"What the Fuck do you think you're doing?" He called out as semi automatic fire hit the front of the vehicle. She didn't have time to answer, instead pushing the vehicle at top speed forward, intending to cut as many of them off as possible. Not being able to see, the sickening thumps beneath the vehicles wheels let her know they had reached the troops, and she continued to press forward. "HEY!" He called again. 

"They're heading towards the Command Center! We haven't got the all clear yet" 

"I Fucking knew it Krieger! I told you once before." She turned the vehicle sharply in front of the Command Center building. 

"Radar and ADA, remember? Our guys can't do that if they're dead! If there are any vehicles left, we can fend them off.You're calling the shots, I get that. Call the right ones. Get Heavy Metal here for cover!" She could see him hesitate "If you don't call him then you're doing the same damn thing! Don't fuck this up because you're pissed at me, or 'cause you're pissed at Ripcord!" She fired a warning line towards some of the troops brave enough to begin once again advancing. 

"Motherfucker!" He called above the noise, slamming a fist into the side of the STUN before picking up the radio and making the call. Heavy Metal was told to advance, sparing as many missiles as possible. Covergirl and Fast Draw would lay down a blanket of bullets to keep the troops down. Without another word, Fast Draw hopped in the back to operate the 5.56 mm Machine gun attached to the STUN, taking out any advancing troops until Heavy Metal and his Stinger arrived. 

"Outside and in position." She said into the radio. "Repeat, outside and in position. We got your back boys, over." 


	10. Chapter 10

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER 10

Ripcord's torso screamed in protest as he and Wolfe strained to hold the rope for the Repeater. Just as Ripcord thought he could take no more, one of the big Ranger's arms appeared through the destroyed grating. Taking hold of the edges of the hole Repeater pulled himself up onto the wet tarmac. Ripcord released the thick rope and inhaled sharply as the motion of his muscles relaxing sent another jolt of pain through his body. "Head for the control center." Ripcord ordered through gritted teeth. His team then sprinted towards the form of the squat, three story Command and Control Center. As Ripcord ran he felt pain shoot through his system with each footfall. He tried to once again push the pain to the back of his mind. He didn't work. He was getting worse. After what fell like an eternity they finally reached their location, each putting their backs against the cold concrete of the building, orienting their eyes and their weapons outwards, searching the surrounding area for hostiles. The pain was starting to get debilitating. Something had to be done. Ripcord reached into a small pouch marked with a subdued cross stenciled on it. As he began to fish around for a particular item, he nodded to Zap. "Go ahead and rig the lock." Ripcord said. As Zap moved forward and began to apply a clump of C-4 to the heavy door's lock, Ripcord's fingers closed around what he'd been looking for. He looked down at the small hypodermic needle in his hand. It was filled with a clear fluid and had an attached sticker that read "GENERAL COMBAT STIMULANT". He had avoided using it for a while. It was highly addictive, had a bad 'come down', and if Ripcord got hurt worse he wouldn't know it until it was too late. Even the substance itself could be dangerous. It was an semi-experimental soup of adrenaline, pain killers, and various chemicals designed to promote every combat favored mental state from aggression to awareness. Taking a final exhale, Ripcord removed the safety cap and stuck the hypodermic needle into a vein in his arm. Things almost literally improved the second he pressed the plunger. As he removed the needle he felt his heart rate raise and his pain diminish with each passing moment. 

"Incoming!" Wolfe shouted as he pointed to a pair of approaching headlights. Everyone took a knee and raised their weapons towards the oncoming STUN, afraid to fire immediately for fear of hitting friendlies. As the STUN raced under a light the question of its crew was answered. It had a full crew of four Motorvipers. The STUN kept bearing down on the group, not firing, apparently unable to clearly make Ripcord's team out. Suddenly the four heavy machine guns on the front of the STUN roared to life, raising a shower of tarmac as the heavy shells walked towards the group. 

"I got the bastards!" Zap yelled as he turned from the door and flipped up the sight for the M-203. He took only the briefest moment to aim before he pulled the grenade launcher's trigger. Much to everyone's surprise, that brief moment was enough. A split second after the high pitched pop of the grenade's seal breaking was heard, a cloud of smoke and fire erupted on the nose of the Cobra vehicle. The machine guns instantly stopped as the STUN cut sharply to its left. The radius of the unintentional turn was too tight. The oversized ATV flipped onto its side, its momentum forcing the vehicle into a series of rolls as it barreled out of control along the slick concrete. The violent journey of the vehicle stopped as it slammed into an small building, flattening on the hardened concrete an instant before it disappeared in a fireball. "...That went better than expected." Zap muttered as he turned away from the burning vehicle and shot his attention back to the lock. 

"Infantry!" Wolfe shouted a second before his FN-FAL opened up. Ripcord diverted his gaze to the right of wreck and saw a group of about ten mixed Cobras running towards his team's position. On open ground, and being lit by the flickering light of the STUN's funeral pyre, the Cobras were easy targets. Almost immediately Ripcord's G-41 and Repeater's M-60 joined in with Wolfe's FN-FAL, causing the Cobra troops to scatter for cover as four of their comrades were cut down within the seconds. Ripcord was so engrossed with trying to hit a Range Viper popping in and out from behind a stack of crates that he barely noticed the small, dull explosion from behind him. 

"We're in!" Zap shouted as he stood beside the doorway and slammed his rifle butt back into the door. Immediately after the door swung open, the deep sounds of heavy machine guns were heard, followed by chunks of concrete being blown out of the area around the door frame. Seeing the lethal hail of gunfire, Ripcord immediately grabbed Zap and pulled him further away from the door frame. Shit. They had fortified the entrance. Ripcord immediately slung his G-41 and withdrew a block of C-4 and a timed detonator from his ruck. Working quickly, Ripcord pressed the detonator into the gray putty-like material and set the timer for three seconds. In a fluid motion he pressed the start button on the detonator and flung the explosive through the open door. 

"Down!" He screamed as he dove towards the tarmac. As soon as he had finished falling there was a large explosion from inside the door that sent debris flying outwards from the doorway. Once the rumbling stopped Ripcord immediately looked up took stock of his team. Everyone looked intact. Repeater immediately shot up to a knee and opened fire on the remaining Cobras who'd taken advantage of the Joe's lull in fire to advance. They had to get inside. Ripcord shot a quick a look inside the door. Smoke. He couldn't see anything past it. He wanted to wait until the smoke cleared to know for sure if it was clear but they didn't have a choice. They had to move. "Wolfe! You're on point! Get in there!" Ripcord shouted to the CIA agent, who promptly shot to his feet and sprinted through the deformed doorway. "Zap! Move!" Ripcord shouted back, not daring to take his eyes off of the sights of his rifle and the prone forms firing back at him. As soon as his peripheral vision lost sight of Zap, he turned and ran through the door, shouting back as he did. "Repeater! Let's go!" Looking back once he'd sprinted through the door, he saw the big machine gunner duck-walking backwards towards the door, firing all the way. As Repeater finally reached the door, Ripcord spun and looked down the hallway. The smoke had finally cleared somewhat. The walls, floor and ceiling around the blast sight were blackened, cracked, and buckled. Bodies, at least they resembled bodies, were strewn everywhere. Ripcord ignored it. Nothing was moving, that was the important part. Right now, they had to find their objectives. "Wolfe, lead us to the cells." Ripcord said as he nodded to CIA agent. Wolfe nodded in return and took off down the hall, leaping over debris as he went. The Joes followed close behind, the group running in a column against one of the corridor's walls. Suddenly a door further down the hall burst open, as two Televipers armed with USP pistols began to sight up on the group. The Cobras never got a chance. Immediately the entire group opened up, causing the two Cobras to fall back in little more than mangled heaps of flesh and bone. Without the slightest pause the group continued on. Finally Wolfe lead them to another heavy door. 

"Here's the staircase." Wolfe indicated, tapping the door with the FN-FAL's bayonet. 

"Zap, blow it." Ripcord said as he waved his friend forward. The soldier quickly moved forward, drawing out a clump of C-4 as he approached the door. As Zap began to place the C-4 on the handle, it turned. Time seem to slow down to a crawl as the door was flung open, showing two Crimson Guardsmen standing there. For the briefest moment, no one did anything. The group groups just stared in surprise of each other. Wolfe broke the silence with a war cry as he shot his rifle forward, slamming its bayonet into the gut of the lead Crimson Guardsman. The Cobra's moan turned into a scream as Wolfe twisted the FN-FAL then flash a kick out at the enemy soldier. As the front kick connected with the Crimson Guardsman's flank, Wolfe pulled the rifle upwards, the bayonet ripping free as the Cobra stumbled backwards. The enemy soldier's body connected with his partner, sending them both careening down a flight of stairs. Came to stop on a landing, Zap shot forward and fired several bursts into the red uniformed soldiers, finishing the wounded one and killing the other pinned under his injured comrade. With all the commotion, a simple detail had gone unnoticed. At some point during the moment a door opened behind the group. The rain saved Ripcord's life. He heard the high pitch squeak of a wet boot sole and snapped his head to his left. There stood a Technoviper with a crowbar raised over his head. Shit! Ripcord quickly dropped the G-41 and rolled away, the metal crowbar impacting with the concrete where his head had been only a split second before. Ripcord used the roll's momentum to carry him to his feet, much to the surprise of the dazed Cobra soldier. Ripcord flashed out a quick punch, catching the enemy in his kidneys. A low moan came from under the Technovipers helmet as he doubled over. Ripcord immediately flashed an uppercut, catching the Cobra under his jaw. Ripcord watched as the Cobra stumbled backwards, only to be jerked violent to the side as Repeater emptied a few rounds into the enemy soldier. "Let's move." Ripcord said with a nod as he scooped up the G-41. Wolfe quick moved past Zap and lead the team down to the first basement. As the team reached the door they quickly stacked up while Zap set the lock to blow. Once the door was breeched, Zap gave it a hard kick, flinging it open as the others burst into the hallway. Their sudden entrance startled two Crimson Guardsmen posted at a near by door. The two Cobra soldiers never stood a chance against the field of fire the Americans laid down. As soon as the two bodies went limp and fell to the floor, Wolfe ran to the heavy door the Cobras had been guarding. He quickly tore what was left of the two Cobra's shirts open, pulling from around their necks. As the others moved forward, Wolfe tossed one of the keys to Ripcord and indicated a lock on the side of the wall. 

"Turn on three. One. Two. Three." Wolfe said, counting as he and Ripcord turned the keys at the same time. A sound of a heavy lock was heard and Wolfe moved forward and pushed the door open. As the door opened two of Croc Masters personal Range Vipers in the hallway beyond spun and raised their weapons. Ripcord's arm flashed out and clamped down on Wolfe's arm before jerking the CIA agent out of the way. A heart beat later the space in the door way was filled with gunfire. Ripcord's hand instinctively shot down towards a grenade on his ALICE gear. As his hands touched the rounded form of the grenade, he stopped himself. No telling where Hotseat was in there. Ripcord smiled to himself as an idea came to mind, he had acted on instinct before he realized logic. Perhaps the Cobras would too. Ripcord slung the G-41 and grabbed one of his grenades. Instead of pulling the pin, Ripcord unscrewed the fuse assembly and let it clatter to the ground. He then threw the inert the grenade through the doorway. Sure enough, the Cobras stopped firing. Ripcord and Wolfe immediately burst through the door and lined up and fired on the prone forms of the Range Vipers. Easy targets. Ripcord turned and waved the rest of the team in as Wolfe pointed to a door further door the hall. Zap rushed forward to put C-4 on the handle but was stopped as Wolfe put his hand over the lock and shook his head. 

"Why the hell not? Our teammate's in there." Zap ask with a confused look on his face. 

"If the guards hear that they'll shoot your NCO for sure. Let me handle this." Wolfe stated matter of factly. No one said anything for a long moment until finally Ripcord slowly nodded. 

"Okay, we play it your way." Ripcord said. 

"Good, everybody against that wall, I don't want the guards to see you when I open the door." Wolfe said, waving everyone back. The Joes pressed against the wall and held their breath as Wolfe knocked on the door. "I have new orders concerning the prisoner directly from Marklov." Wolfe stated in the same Germanic accent he'd used before. The Joes all didn't dare make a move as the door clicked and Wolfe opened it. As soon as it swung shut Ripcord rushed forward, taking off his Kevlar as he went. As he reached the door he pressed his ear the metallic surface and strained to hear what was being said. 

"What's going on here?" 

"The base is under attack. Marklov wants the prisoner killed." 

"It's about damned time, we need to be out there fightin' not in here guarding this piece-a-shit." "Anywhere we need to take him?" 

"No, I'll do here." Two gunshots rang out. That motherfucker! Everything went into slow motion as Ripcord's eyes narrowed and his hand shot down to the handle. As he threw the door open, his eyes immediately shot to a figure tied into a chair against the opposite wall. The battered man was wearing woodland BDU pants and a brown t-shirt. His head was slumped onto his chest. It took Ripcord a moment to realized that two more of Croc Master's Range Vipers were laying on the floor in pools of blood. Finally the moment shot back into normal time. Ripcord ran forward and skidded to a halt on a knee beside his captive leader. He looked over to the other side of the chair as Wolfe started to cut Hotseat free of the ropes. Ripcord quickly joined Wolfe in cutting the ropes free as Zap and Repeater rushed into the room. Zap rushed ahead of the big Ranger and began to inspect Hotseat. He had obviously been beaten. His body was covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Fortunately he had a strong pulse and was slowly coming around to the soldier's rousing. As the final rope was cut free the NCO's eyes fluttered open and he took in the team around him. 

"I thought I told you to stay on mission." Hotseat croaked out through dry and cracked lips. Zap immediately gave the older tanker a few drinks from his canteen. 

"We are on mission." Ripcord returned flatly. "Can you walk?" Ripcord asked as he looked over Hotseat. The NCO didn't answer, instead he shakily started to his feet, only to stumble and be caught by Zap. 

"I'll just slow you down....leave me." Hotseat said in a defeated voice. "Not a chance." The deep voice of Repeater called back as he continued to watch the hallway. 

"Zap, Repeater, get him topside." Ripcord said in a firm voice. 

"Cancel that. I'm dead weight. I'm not even armed." Hotseat said with a shake of his head. Ripcord immediately reached over to one of the fallen Range Vipers and quickly stripped the corpse of its G-41, ballistic vest, and bandoleer. He then shoved the equipment in Hotseat's direction. 

"There. You're armed. Now move out. That's an order." Ripcord said in a firm voice. The NCO didn't say a word as he slipped into the gear before Zap and Repeater each threw one of Hotseat's arms around their shoulders. 

"What are we gonna do about the generators amigo?" Zap stopped and asked as they reached the door. 

"Give Wolfe your LC-2." Ripcord said after a long moment. "Me and him'll go down and blow the generators." Zap nodded solemnly just before he shrugged the ruck off and used his free hand to hand the explosives laden backpack to the CIA agent. 

"I better see your ass topside in a few minutes Ripcord. That's order." Hotseat called back as the two Joes helped him out into the hallway. Ripcord watched his teammates until they disappeared out into the hallway, then turned to the CIA agent. 

"You ready to do this?" Ripcord asked rhetorically. The helmet of the Crimson Guard uniform nodded in a slow response. 

The trio of Joes slowly made their way up to the first floor. Thankfully their trip had been uneventful but the closer they got to the destroyed doorframe, the louder sound of combat became. As the Joes finally stumbled out into the tarmac, they saw a Cobra STUN and a Stinger facing outwards, firing frantically at several targets. A quick look at the two vehicle's crews revealed their own troops. That thought didn't relieve Zap any, it didn't look good. With the way the four 12.7mm machine guns were firing, they had to run dry soon. Also there was only a single missile remaining on the Stinger. "Stay with him!" Zap shouted over the roar of gunfire as he slipped out from under Hotseat's arm. Repeater nodded and proceeded to hold Hotseat up with one arm while firing the M-60 from his hip with the other. Zap quickly sprinted forward to the STUN and climbed up the small metal rungs near the back of the vehicle and crawled forward between the two occupied gunner pods. "The cavalry's here!" Zap shouted into Covergirl's and Fastdraw's ears over the staccato bursts from the four heavy machine guns. 

"Couldn't have timed it better!" Covergirl shouted without taking her eyes off of the HUD. 

"About fuckin' time!" Fast Draw chimed in. Covergirl looked towards the building and stopped firing as her eyes fell on Hotseat hanging on Repeater, firing a burst himself every so often. She turned her head to Zap, her eyes seeming brighter than they'd been in a while. 

"Is he okay?!" The female tanker asked. 

"Yeah, they beat the hell out of him and he looks like he's got borderline dehydration but nothing that looks too serious!" He shouted back as he pulled he M-16 up to his eyes and began to add to the firefight. 

"What about..." Covergirl started to say but the last part was lost over the noises of the gunfire. 

"He's still in there! He's gotta blow the generators!" Zap returned, knowing what his friend had meant to say. He saw Covergirl close her eyes and slowly nod. As she reopened them she shot a quick glance at Hotseat before she refocused her attention on the HUD again. 

Ripcord slowly stepped through the doorway and into the second basement. Immediately a wave of humid heat slammed into him as the sounds of heavy machinery assaulted his ears. Wolfe tapped Ripcord on the shoulder and pointed down a corridor created by a series of various pipes. The two carefully eased further into the maze of pipes and wiring, watching every corner of the winding path. They'd only been there a few seconds and already Ripcord knew he hated this environment. Due to the constant drone of heavy machinery and the twisting metal of the pipes, he wouldn't have a chance to hear or see an attack coming until it was too late. In addition to his eyes constantly scanning the area around him, he stopped every few feet and took a moment to take a good look around. After what felt like the thousandth time of stopping every few feet, his caution paid off. As he swept his gaze upwards, he caught site of a pair of shadows crouched down on top of the pipes ahead. Ripcord quickly swung the rifle in line with the forms and pulled the trigger. He was rewarded with a pair of screams as he fired bursts into each of the man sized shadows. The two forms fell from the pipes and landed on the concrete below with a dull thud. Two more of Croc Master's Range Vipers down. The duo continued their careful advancement through the corridor until they came to halt when they met a split in the maze of pipes. Wolfe quickly pointed to himself then to the right, followed by pointing to Ripcord then to the left. Ripcord tilted his head quizzically then shook his head. Wolfe leaned in and tried his best to shout over the heavy machinery. 

"The left leads to the primary! The right leads to the secondary! If we split up, we can get through faster!" Wolfe shouted. After a long moment Ripcord slowly nodded. He then watched Wolfe disappear down a bend in the corridor before he started off down the other. Ripcord traveled twice as carefully now. He was complete cut off from support. No radio. Shouts couldn't be heard. Every step felt like an hour, as he slowly made his way down the corridor. Suddenly as he neared a bend, a form shot out in front of him. However, with his heightened state of caution Ripcord was ready. He quickly slid back and fired off a burst from the G-41. The Technoviper slammed back against the pipes, crimson eruptions marring his purple and black uniform as he body's impact sent a deep reverberation through the metal. Without another glance, Ripcord sidestepped the body and slowly continued down the corridor. After an eternity of creeping along the narrow maze, it finally opened into a large area. The clearing was dominated by three large turbines spinning rapidly and creating enough sound to complete cover any other noise in the area. Ripcord smiled in grim satisfaction as he quickly rushed over the massive turbines and began strategically place his C-4 charges on the super-structure of the generators. He was so engrossed with the process of priming the various charges on the turbines, that the attack caught him completely off guard. At first he didn't know what it was, he only felt something slam hard into his back and pitch his torso forward somewhat. On most people, the pain or the shock could threaten to sent them into a brief blackout, however with the combat stimulant still flowing in his veins he simply spun and raised his rifle. A Technoviper, still leveling a USP pistol at Ripcord, was standing dead center of another the entrance to another corridor of pipes. Ripcord had been shot. He didn't even hear the discharge over the turbines. Ripcord immediately squeezed the trigger, watching as the Cobra's body jerked violently before falling lazily backwards. Ripcord turned his attention back to the explosives, the USPs Cobra used fired a 9mm round. The vest must have stopped it. As Ripcord finished priming his charges he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly swung the G-41 inline with the lone Crimson Guardsman. The enemy soldier dropped his FN-FAL and removed his helmet. It was Wolfe. Ripcord nodded and with a final press of a button, the charges began their countdown. 

This was getting bad. The vehicles had already run out of ammo. The STUN was completely destroyed, the victim of a HEAT Viper that had hit the captured vehicle shortly after the Joes had abandoned it. He, Covergirl, and Fast Draw were prone behind the burning wreckage of the STUN, trading fire with the Cobra troops. Not much further away was the still functional, yet unarmed Stinger which was providing cover for Repeater, Hotseat, and Heavy Metal. Despite the best efforts of the Joes and their horrendous fields of fire, the Cobras kept coming. Even now, the ammo on the Joes' personal weapons were beginning to run low. They were about to be overrun. However without the ADA grid destroyed, they couldn't abandon their positions. Their fate was rapidly approaching at this rate. 

"DOWN!!!!" A voice yelled loud enough to be clearly heard above the sound of the rifles. Zap didn't dare hesitate or turn around to ask why or who. He quickly let go of M-16 and threw his arms over his head, burying his face in the tarmac. Almost instantly the ground under the team shook violently, causing cracks developing in some areas of the concrete. The noise was just as impressive. Despite being muffled, the explosion sounded catastrophic. Most importantly, the entire complex was thrown into darkness. Zap put two and two together, Ripcord and Wolfe had hit the generators. Zap started to look up to take stock of his team but before his arms were even off of his head, his radio's headset sparked to life. 

"Jaguar! Get the hell outta there! You've got eleven minutes to get at least two miles away!" 

Rain cascaded off the front of her Kevlar, providing cool relief from the burning wreckage in front of them. She watched the advancing Cobra troops as she gave a few more short blasts at the muzzle flashes in front of her, before her magazine was empty. Shit. She rolled to her side, flinging off the M-16 and grabbing at her side arm as two figures came flying face first from the building. 

"DOWN!!!!" One of them screamed. Almost instinctively, she rolled over, protecting her ears from the loud blast that followed. The ground shook for a brief moment, cracking the tarmac beneath them. She thought back to living in LA, the one and only earthquake she'd been in felt much like the blast. After all movement stopped, she opened her eyes and sat up to take inventory, the light from the burning STUN now casting an eerie glow on the shadowy figures before her. Five, Six Seven Eight? She held fast to her sidearm as two of the figures came running over. The one on the right she recognized as Ripcord. The one on his left She raised the small pistol. "Hold fire! One of ours!" She heard Ripcord tell her. She held fire but kept the weapon trained the man was wearing a Crimson Guard uniform. "One of ours" He repeated. She slowly lowered the weapon, still keeping an eye on his new 'friend.' A call came over the radio that she couldn't quite make out, until Zap repeated it for the team. 

"Hey!" He cried, sharply. "We got eleven minutes to get the fuck out! Two miles!" 

"Before what?" She asked, without thinking. It didn't matter what was coming, whatever it was would be there in eleven minutes. And they had to clear the compound within two miles, 3 wounded? Were they out of their Goddamn minds? 

"STINGER!" Fast Draw called. It was the only vehicle they had, meant really for two people, three tops. They had seven. Correction. Eight. She slid quickly into the drivers seat, beating out Heavy Metal for the drivers slot, and fired it up. Repeater helped slide Hotseat in next to her, followed by Fast Draw. She quickly checked to see the status of the team. On the back, clung Heavy Metal and the new Siege. Repeater hopped up top, steadying his feet against the missile turret, and hanging on to the passenger door with one hand. Ripcord jumped onto the running board along the drivers side, Zap took the one on the passenger side. Fast Draw held fast to his ALICE suspenders as Zap laid down a final line of fire. 

"GO, GO, GO!" Ripcord cried, banging on the roof he was clinging to. She slammed the vehicle into drive carefully, not topping over 30 mph. She cut sharp right to avoid the burning STUN, Repeaters feet swinging wide almost taking out Ripcord. She grabbed on to his Alice with her left hand, helping to steady him while straightening out the wheel, all in all leading to the Stinger jerking back and forth momentarily, and a slew of profanity from her teammates. Most notable was the sarcastic 'women drivers.' From Fast Draw. At least a minute had past. Grabbing the wheel with both hands again, she steadied the vehicle. Ripcord tapped her on the helmet, then point to a few blinking lights she knew to be near the helipad. She nodded. They needed to get to a chopper. It was about a mile away. She fought the urge to gun the engine, knowing each second counted, anyone falling off would cause precious seconds wasted. 30 miles per hour, 1 mile would take two minutes. They needed to get out of the compound in ten. She cursed to herself they couldn't get them any more time? After everything She shook her head, instead focusing on the transport chopper sitting on the helipad, it's rotors slowly starting to turn as the rain began to taper off as quickly as it had started. Ripcord jumped from the slowing Stinger first as it approached the helipad, running in front of the vehicle, and causing her to stop short. Repeater, who'd barely been able to hang on shot forward, rolling sideways from the roof to the hood, finally hitting the ground with a dull thud. Zap was flung forward, but managed with Fast Draw's help to hang on with his weapon drawn. Both Heavy Metal and the new guy were thrown forward into the rear frame of the vehicle, before dropping off of both sides, scrambling quickly to their feet. Fast Draw and Hotseat managed to grab the dashboard to steady themselves. 

"Not a word!" She warned, as she and Fast Draw hopped out of the Stinger doors, taking the time to help Hotseat to his feet. One hand around each of their shoulders, they were the last to arrive at the aircraft. Ripcord had approached the transport chopper with his weapon raised, aiming directly at the pilot sitting in the cockpit. Giving Zap a cover sign, Zap and the Siege took his place, aiming at each the pilot and co-pilot. The rest of the team arrived just as he'd hopped into the back of the helicraft. He angled his rifle downward into the back of the co-pilots neck, who sat with hands raised, staring forward towards the muzzle of the Siege's gun. Without warning, he lodged a single bullet down the man's spinal column, a small spray of crimson pelting the side window after the impact. Still strapped in he fell forward, lifeless. Before the pilot could react, he found the weapon pressed against his vertebral column in the same fashion. 

Though gritted teeth, Ripcord uttered "Two choices my friend, fly, or die?" He chose the sooner, opting to take his chances rather than square off against seven Eight people with weapons drawn. Ripcord never took his eyes or weapon off the pilot as the team climbed aboard, then gave the "Up." Command. The pilot complied, slowly raising the transport chopper off the ground. Her heart pounded out of her chest, as another minute ticked by, the helicopter finally beginning to take off. no one saying a word as the building below them disappeared into blackness. Ripcord continued to give the pilot one word commands, flying them back towards the VAMPs. She started to relax, turning her attention instead to Hotseat, taking a knee in front of him. 

"Good to have you back, pops." She said softly, taking a look at his wounds for the first time. He looked like shit, one eye completely swollen shut, bruises covering the rest of his face, with a few good gashes scattered around. His swollen lip was gashed, cracked and dry, but still he tried to manage a smile. She gave him the remainder of her water, knowing it wouldn't be much longer before they were on the transport taking them home, then removed some bandages from his ALICE to dress his wounds. She gently squeezed his hand as she sat beside him, him drifting in and out of sleep. She tried not to imagine what he'd been through, instead, turning her gaze towards the windows, looking out at the night sky. It had been impossible to see from below through the thick jungle canopy, but she'd never seen a brighter moon or stars. From the ground, you tended to forget they even existed. She leaned a weary head against the thick glass, once again feeling the reverberation jarring her teeth. She thought she'd imagined it, fell asleep maybe the large black object streaking across in front of the bright moon for a split second. A tear-drop shaped aircraft, like nothing she'd ever seen 

What the fuck was that? from Fast Draw made her realize it wasn't her imagination. The entire team stared in silence, Ripcord keeping his weapon tight on the pilot. Without realizing, she squeezed Hotseat's hand a little harder. Eleven minutes had gone by. Six blinding flashes appeared from below, followed by a low rumble turned into six deafening explosions. She half expected to see a mushroom cloud rising, but none came. Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck Fast Draw continued, as the rest remained speechless at the sight they just witnessed. She turned her eyes toward Ripcord, cursing herself for thinking about what could have happened if they were still down there. Ripcord shook his head as if to clear it, possibly not believing his eyes either. He directed the pilot a bit further into the jungle, the smoky fog that was once a weapons plant becoming less visible.

"Here. He said to the pilot, still barking one word commands. The craft hovered in a holding pattern above a small patch of jungle. Fast Draw, cover! He moves, he dies, got it? Fast draw kept his rifle trained on the man, giving his now atypical Fast Draw remarks 

Give me a reason, Motherfucker, give me a reason, Bam, Got it? Bam! She almost had to smile. He walked back towards the team, looking them over once before nodding. 

We're going to have to rappel. It's really the only way She let her head drop for a second, cursing softly. Yeah, she'd hit the wall in basic training, but this this was from a moving helicopter He and the Siege busied themselves fastening harness out of rope. Before long, Repeater joined the two of them. 

Repeater said, without looking up from his work. Your strong hand will be your brake hand, the one that you squeeze to slow your decent. Pin the rope to the small of your back, whatever you do, don't move it from there. Your other hand is your guide hand, you can hold the rope above you, just make sure you don't squeeze with that hand. No one spoke. He had that kind of effect, that kind of voice that you couldn't help listen to, take faith in. You and You first up. He pointed to Zap and Heavy Metal, he and the Siege hooking the Swiss seat harnesses to each. You're going to lower yourself self into an "L" shape like you're sitting with your legs out. Kick out and away from the aircraft, then lower yourself to the ground. Don't panic, Just remember to ease up on the brake hand. Don't release to quickly. Easy does it. It was the most she'd heard him speak at one time. She opened up her ALICE, taking out the thick gloves. Two ropes were securely fastened to the helicopter and thrown through the thick canopy below. Repeater fitted Heavy Metal with the Swiss seat while the Siege double checked Zap. She gave Heavy Metal a quick walk-through-the-park sign to help calm his nerves, but if he saw or understood, it didn't change his worried expression. The Siege and Hotseat were next to go, just in case anything went wrong with Hotseat's descent. Hotseat returned the walk-in-the-park sign she gave him, before heading out of the craft himself. She and Fast Draw were to follow, Ripcord again covering the pilot. She caught a reassuring glance from Ripcord, as Repeater looped the rope twice through her snap link. He didn't make eye contact, but he did tap her on the helmet. She took it as his way of giving a 'friendly' gesture, and gave him a smile he didn't return. Repeater slid down following Fast Draw like an expert, Ripcord being the last out. He stopped for a second, attaching something to the helicopter, before swiftly rappelling himself. 

she heard him call out, on the way down. She didn't have to ask why. The Cobra helicopter, tagged by his C-4 exploded into yet another fiery display, worthy of something she'd see on the Fourth of July. Ripcord hit the ground hard and rolling to the left to avoid the crashing helicopter. He was up quick, almost two quick, she thought. Almost like the adrenaline rush had given him some sort of extra high. He let out a quick whoop, before checking the status of the team. It was almost as if Fast Draw started rubbing off on him, she thought, not sure is she should smile, or shudder. He had known his stuff, brought them down within one click of where the VAMPs were hidden, still camouflaged beneath the tarps. 

I'll call in for the extraction team Zap called, as the team regrouped. 

Hold up a second Don't make the call Hotseat told him. 

What's the matter old man? Fast Draw kidded. You had the maps and hopefully a good memory, now get us to the extraction site. The old tanker remained silent... Maybe he was hurt worse than he was saying? Taking a second to catch his breath, he looked up and half smiled at his team, looking each in the eye, then shook his head slowly. 

Heavy Metal was the first to ask. 

We have to cancel the extraction team. He said solemnly. Everyone froze. Cover Girl turned slowly to Ripcord, shooting a quizzical look. Cancel? 

Hold up, I saw the maps myself, there was an extraction site marked on a clearing, not far. Ripcord told him. 

Oh, it's still there, but it's swarming with Cobras. He quietly added. 

How do you know? Zap asked, as the tanker slowly hung his head. He asked. 

I talked. He said softly, defeated. She closed her eyes. They hit me with sodium pentathol, and I 

Heavy Metal yelled out, slamming his fist into one of the VAMPs. He grabbed Hotseat by the captured ballistic vest, screaming at the older tanker. When were you planning on telling us? When we got there, and they opened fire? 

Back off Ripcord said, quietly putting himself between Heavy Metal and Hotseat.. There's not much you can do to resist chemicals. 

The key words being not much. He said, icily, staring hard at Hotseat. Meaning he could have done something! 

Shut the Fuck up Heavy Metal! Ripcord told him, giving him a shove. Something was wrong, he wasn't acting like himself, not since the MARS factory. She hadn't seen him like this since She hated thinking back on it Since he'd pulled the gun on Fast Draw. She knew something had been wrong. He wasn't acting like himself, on edge, jumpy almost. 

Hey, easy! She said, grabbing hold of his shoulder. Immediately he spun around, wide eyed. She repeated, staring into his green eyes until they softened. It took a few seconds, but getting his bearing back, he turned to Hotseat. 

We make the call, we change the site, we go home" He said flatly. If only it had been that simple. The new site was much further away, almost 8 hours. The evac would be there anywhere from 8 to18 hours, weather depending. The rainstorms and wind had picked up, making flying conditions rough, they'd said. Even Ripcord's confident look seemed to waver a bit hearing the news. All of them looked defeated. Supplies were near gone. MRE's running low, water, even ammo, save the ammo on the VAMPs was to a bare minimum. She half smirked... at least their ALICE gear wouldn't be as heavy if they had to do any more walking. "All right, let's move it out, people." Ripcord told the team, giving a nod towards Hotseat. "Wolfe, you, me, Repeater on point. You drive, I'll navigate. Covergirl, you and Fast Draw have the Two, and Heavy Metal, you got Hotseat, Zap's your gunner....Fast Draw, radio..." He tossed Ripcord his handset, before heading back to the VAMP. Wolfe... The Siege had a name. 

"You and me, Babe!" Fast Draw commented, climbing in the VAMP next to her. She shook her head. It was going to be a long drive. Once again she fought the steering to keep the large vehicle steady for hours on end, ignoring Fast Draw's comments about hitting every bump in the jungle, ignoring his rendition of 99 bottles of beer for the second time. Even with the now pouring rain, she found herself fighting sleep. Fast Draw settled into the corner, using his tarp as cover, letting the rocking motion of the VAMP lull him to sleep. Annoyed as she was that he was resting comfortably, she let him be, anything being better than suffering with his company. Another few hours down, the rains and winds continued to pick up. The three vehicles passed through two small villages, the second if possible seeming more desolate than the first, the inhabitants giving them wary looks as they drove, most taking shelter in their almost shanty-like homes. "Makes my place almost look like a palace..." Fast Draw mumbled, waking from his nap. She didn't bother to ask. They stopped a few times as the temperamental MKII would stall out when the rains became heavy, making a long journey seem even longer. It only took a few moments to dry the distributor cap, wires and plugs so they could fire, but still, it was slowing the team down, pushing an already on edge team further. "Why don't we just fucking ditch this piece of crap!" He finally said, slamming a fist into the dashboard as they stalled for the third time on the outskirts of yet another village. 

"Why don't you just fucking shut...." She started to say, but stopped herself...after hearing the blast of automatic fire. Through the rain she could barely make out the sight of a vehicle, Cobra. Ferret maybe, or STUN. It must've been a stray recon group, she wasn't sure, she didn't care. She punched the dashboard herself, jumping out of the vehicle to once again get it started. 

"Pull back, Pull back!" Ripcord shot through the radio. "We got civilians ahead, We got civilians!" There was nothing she could do, until the plugs were dry, the VAMP wouldn't budge... She worked quick, for the first time cursing the engine for being so large, for having so many pistons. 

"HIT IT!" She called to Fast Draw, him sliding into the driver seat trying to turn the engine over. Nothing. FUCK. Boxed in ahead of them was Ripcord's VAMP, not yet returning fire. More gunfire. 

"Let's go, Krieger, let's go!" Fast Draw called out, trying to turn over the engine again. Spark...The wet engine conducted electricity well, the jolt stopping her for a split second. She shook out her left hand, not quick enough to pull it from the block. Bastard was going to get her electrocuted. One more wire, one more... He hit the engine again, this time causing her to jerk away with the shock, but at least it started. She slammed the hood down, resting her hand in the cool water for a brief second before jumping back into the VAMP. They backed up, but it was too late. The STUN tore through the small village, seemingly not caring what they hit as long as it was close to their mark... Ripcord's VAMP. Sonuva.... One shot would take it out, one shot.. Just a little further back... She held the vehicle steady in reverse, keeping the missiles trained on the STUN. The Siege.... Wolf following suit, drawing the vehicle back, away from the small village. More gunfire... this time from the village itself. What the.... She barely make out through the rain the shadowy figures that returned the automatic fire of the Cobra vehicle. "Holy fuck...." Fast Draw cursed. "They can't get running water, but everyone and their uncle's got a semi-automatic?" A few more feet back, Ripcord gave her the clear to fire. One shot was all it took, one missile, no more STUN... no more firing. Quiet. It was quiet. Nothing but the rain. Fast Draw was first to leave the vehicle, weapon drawn to scout the area. Ripcord, Wolfe and Repeater themselves already searching the destroyed STUN, the heavy rains quickly dousing the fire left behind by her missile. She, Hotseat and Heavy Metal stayed with the vehicles, her taking the turret of the first, just in case they needed additional cover. 

"Where the hell are they, where the hell are they..." She repeated out loud, scanning the trees in front of her. It should have been daylight... the damn storm keeping everything near black. Finally, rustling through the thick tree line, she saw the figures start to appear. Ripcord first, "Four" she counted out loud, with a smile. It faded when she saw Wolf next, "Five," but returned for Repeater "Six" and Fastdraw. "Seven." Following them was Zap "Eight...." carrying a near hysterical crying young boy.


	11. Chapter 11

MURPHY' 

MURPHY'S LAW - CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Vietnam Conflict ended about six years ago. Despite this fact, Warrant Officer Harper and his Chinook crew hadn't left the jungle since. Harper remembered reading an article long ago about prisoners being 'institutionalized'. He could compare it to his crew's predicament. They had spend so much time in Southeast Asia, that the jungle had become their home. After the U.S. forces pulled out in '75, they knew they would feel out of place anywhere but the jungles. So they each requested assignments throughout the various tropical regions of the world that the U.S. Army operated in. The Army eagerly granted them duty in some spots of the globe where other soldiers had to practically be forced to go. Harper shifted his eyes from the heavy sheet of rain visible through the propped open door of their barracks and looked down at his cards. Four of the five cards caught his eye from the start, two aces and two eights. Harper immediately tossed his cards down on the floor, face down. 

"What's the matter skip?" Davidson, his crew chief, said with a chuckle, "Your hand that that bad?" 

"Ask Wild Bill." Harper retorted flatly. No one responded. They all knew what it meant. Eights and Aces. The Dead Man's Hand. Legend had it that 'Wild Bill' Hickok was holding that hand when he was shot. Soldiers, especially fliers, never were in a hurry to tempt fate. The sudden silence was broken as the intercom bolted above the door crackled to life. 

"Lifeguard flight, Lifeguard flight, you have a green, I say again you have a green, report to your aircraft immediately." Came a hurried set of orders over the intercom. The four crewmen immediately shot to their feet, scattering cards and small bills in the process. 

"The shit always goes down when I have a good hand!" Wallace, the loadmaster, spat out as he pulled his helmet and vests from his locker.

"What was it?" Carmicheal, the co-pilot, asked with a smile as his pulled his survival vest over his ballistic vest. 

"A full house." Wallace shot back. 

"Straight flush." Davidson said as he ran past Wallace and gave his partner a playful shove. The four crewmen rushed out of the squat metal building and began to pile into a HMMWV. As soon as the final member of his crew had entered the multi-purpose four wheel drive vehicle Harper floored the accelerator and aimed the vehicle in the direction of the base's helipad. 

Ripcord and the others made their way carefully forward, not wanting to startled the armed villagers. As they neared the burning wreckage of the STUN, Ripcord's eyes started to sweep over the twisted black and red metal, keeping a careful watch for anything that moved from it. He didn't worry about the villagers. If they'd decided to open fire then he'd be the first one to go anyways. 

"Hey Zap, tell 'em we're on their side." Fastdraw said swiftly as he kept his eyes on the people and their shanty mud and wood huts. 

"Yo hablo Espanol pendejo." Zap hissed. "And even if these people did speak the country's language, it's Portuguese not Span-" Before Zap could finish his sentence a man and woman both armed with battered AK-47s carefully stepped forward. The man slowly swung his AK-47 out of line with the Americans and started speaking to Zap in Spanish. Zap nodded and said something back, soon the two had broken into a conversation. Not long into their conversation, the other villagers lowered their rifles, which caused the Joes and Wolfe to do the same. 

"Zap, what's he saying?" Ripcord asked just above his breath as he approached his friend. 

"They're not natives for one," Zap started, keeping his statements short to get in the important facts, "They're Columbians originally. Fled across the border due to some kinda trouble they were in. They've got a tough life here in the jungles, but they survive. Cobra mainly leaves them alone most of the time due to their distance and remoteness to the complex. They say we're welcome to stay if we need to and they've got some spare fo-" Zap was cut off has the sound of heavy machine fire cut through the air, causing the soldiers to instinctively dive towards the ground. Ripcord's gaze shot up just in time to see the man and woman almost literately be cut to pieces under a storm of heavy caliber bullets. Ripcord tore his gaze away from the spray of blood and flesh that rose from the mangled bodies of the two Columbians each time a shell slammed into masses that were barely recognizable as human forms. As he frantically scanned the area, his eyes found the source of the fire. A HiSS burst forth from the opposite end of the village, it's twin .50 caliber machine guns firing wildly at anything that moved. Ripcord saw the Columbians try to fight back, only to have themselves cut to pieces as the 7.62 rounds from their rifles pinged harmless off of the black armor of the Cobra APC. 

"Fastdraw! Hit it!" Ripcord shouted back. Within seconds he heard the sound of a LAW's motor kick it as it screamed from the launch tube and punched through the thick plexiglass canopy of HiSS, destroying the cockpit and engulfing the turret's gunner in flames. As the deep rolling boom of the fireball raised by the LAW subsided, Ripcord's ears were filled with the sounds of a high pitched screaming. His eyes shot to his right to see a young boy running towards the prone forms of two Columbians that Zap had just been talking to. His eyes shot back to the burning HiSS as he heard more rifle fire from that direction. His heart sank. There had to be almost a full platoon of various Cobra troops bursting into the small village. The Columbians rushed to meet the Cobras head on but Ripcord knew the civilians wouldn't last long. "Pull out!" He shouted back, noticing his men firing on the Cobras as well. As Ripcord stood and turned he saw Zap try to shield the boy from the bodies of his parents. "Let's go Raf!" Ripcord shouted to the explosives expert. Ripcord didn't expect what happened next. Zap scooped up the boy in one arm as he stood and began to retreat with his teammates. Ripcord didn't say anything about it, mainly because he didn't have the time to argue over it. He and his team would turn every so often to fire hastily aimed shots at the Cobras, each time the number of live civilians growing smaller and smaller. At some point during the team's sprint he heard the near constant sound of Repeater's M-60 stop. 

"Shit!" The big Ranger hissed as he threw the empty machine gun to the ground and withdrew a large Colt Python revolver from a hip holster. Ripcord turned back around. The VAMPs were in sight. He quickly yelled out to the three remaining members of the team in the ATVs. 

"Start the engines! Move out damnit!" He shouted, immediately causing Covergirl and Heavy Metal to fire up the engines on the vehicles.

"Down!" He heard Covergirl scream. He didn't hesitate. He immediately dropped prone, as the launcher on the Mk. II spun in his direction and flashed, signaling the launch of one of the Dragon missiles. The Medium sized anti-tank missile leapt out of it's rack and caused an explosion somewhere close behind Ripcord and his team. As the noise of the missile's fireball subsided, Ripcord shot to his feet and darted towards the lead VAMP. A cursory glance behind him revealed the burning hulk of another HiSS. Jesus, how many units survived? The off-base patrols must have organized once they found out that the complex was destroyed. Ripcord didn't dwell on the his theories but instead, focused his attention to the VAMP. As he reached the vehicle he immediately spun and took a knee, bringing the captured G-41 up. It was clear but he doubted it would stay that way for long. He saw Wolfe and Repeater sprinting towards him both headed for the same VAMP Ripcord was near. Repeater jumped onto the back of the VAMP while Wolfe dove through the open passenger door and quickly turned the big engine of the vehicle over. Ripcord shot a hurried glance back at the other two VAMPs. Everyone was in. As he turned towards the passenger door, he heard the two dual M-60s in the column as well as several M-16s open up. He reached up and pulled himself into the vehicle's cab. As soon Ripcord's feet were off the ground he yelled out to Wolfe. 

"GO!" Ripcord shouted as he turned in the seat and pointed his rifle out of the VAMP's window. He saw the Cobras pouring out of the clearing and into the jungle. He took aim and fired, combining his rifle with the rest of his team's weapons to lay down a hellish field of fire on the approaching enemies. As Wolfe gunned the engine and the VAMP leap forward Ripcord lost site of the enemy soldiers, the small window only allowing him only a narrow field of vision. Ripcord quick forced the door open against the winds and quickly pulled an yellow and black striped cord. As the cord was pulled away, it removed two pins causing the armored door to fly away from his vehicle, the wind and momentum carrying it backwards where it narrowly avoided slamming into Covergirl's Mk. II. Ripcord saw the Cobras swiftly disappearing into darkness and lined up for shots as best he could with the bucking of VAMP. He pulled the trigger in a few hasty bursts, not sure if he'd hit anything or not. On his last burst he heard the bolt dry firing. He quickly spun his body to front and reached for another magazine. His eyes immediately widened when he saw a STUN come into view ahead. The distance was too short. They were going to hit it. Ripcord saw a shower of sparks raise on the nose of the Cobra vehicle as Repeater tried to take out the crew. The STUN answered the challenge by opening up all four of the forward heavy machine guns. Ripcord the heard initial rounds connecting with the armor of the VAMP's body. Then he heard the scream of a missile engine igniting from behind him. The Dragon flashed past the VAMP and hit the strut for the STUN's front tire. There was a loud explosion as the fireball engulfed the nose of the Cobra vehicle and tilted it backwards with such force that it lifted up into the air and slammed it back to the earth upside down. More importantly, the back flip of the vehicle cleared it away from the path of his VAMP, sparing the vehicle from a catastrophic collision. Ripcord breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in the rough seat of the military vehicle. His closed his eyes for a moment, only for them to be snapped back open as the sound of another Dragon launch was heard moments before an explosion followed. He quickly twisted his body to see out of the doorframe, hoping wasn't a VAMP that had just went up. His eyes fell instantly on another burring husk, that resembled a STUN, lighting up the jungle. He shot another glance back. He saw all three VAMPs still traveling in a tight column. Good. As Ripcord's gaze intensified he then saw that all four of the missiles racks on the Mk. II were empty. The team had no anti-armor weapons left. He hoped they could make the next fifteen miles unopposed. 

Harper's foot tapped against the side of the control panel as a radio blared "Long Tall Sally" inside the body of the CH-47 helicopter. It had become a bit of tradition during their missions with hot LZs during Vietnam. He had to smile as he heard Wallace's singing over the beat of the heavy rotors and sound of the music. He was to about look back to tell Wallace he was off-key when he heard Carmicheal called out over the intercom. 

"Got 'em!" The co-pilot called out, pointing out of the windows of the helicopter's cockpit. "Talk about timing." Carmicheal added. 

"No kidding." Harper returned. The timing allowed them to avoid another hard-learned lesson of Southeast Asia. If the ground troops reached the LZ before the choppers got there, they could get under heavy fire without any support. Inversely, if the chopper had to orbit while waiting, it was a big target and could run low on fuel. "Lifeguard flight this is Lead, we've got smoke below, two o'clock low." Harper said into the radio, "Intel says it's seven troops and three light vehicles down there. Two, you'll go in and hook up to the first vehicle and head back. Three, you'll be up next, doing the same. We'll get final vehicle and pull the troops out." With that Harper put the aircraft into a hover not far from the LZ and watched as one of the three Chinooks in his flight broke formation and tilted slightly as it moved forward, positioning itself over the LZ just before dropping it's heavy lift lines into the clearing below. 

Ripcord looked up as the massive helicopter hung over the clearing and dropped four heavy cords, which landed heavily on the muddy ground with a dull sound. 

"They're taking the VAMPs out first!" Hotseat shouted over the noise of the rotors of the three helicopters. Everyone except Heavy Metal nodded to the NCO who was supporting himself in the door frame of the last VAMP. 

"Oh, so the equipment is more valuable than us, huh?!" Heavy Metal shouted angrily. 

"In your case, yeah!" Fastdraw shot back flatly.

"Knock it off!" Hotseat growled at the two. With that said, Ripcord, Covergirl, Repeater, and Heavy Metal all rushed forward and each pulled one of the heavy hooks out of the soggy ground while Wolfe drove the first VAMP over near the hooks. As each began to attach the cargo hooks to specifically designed points on the body of the Joe vehicle, Wolfe slid out of the vehicle and ran to over to the Mk. II, sliding into it's seat and turning the engine over. 

"Get clear!" Repeater shouted as the last hook was securely closed. The big Ranger then ran to the side of the clearing and waved his arms up. With that there was a groan of metal as the VAMP's weight was lifted off of the ground, the Chinook gaining altitude before it sped away from the clearing.

"Safe home, boys." Covergirl said under her breath as her gaze followed the VAMP off into the distance. As soon as the first Chinook had pulled away another one took it's place, hovering over the clearing as it dropped the it's heavy lift lines. Once again the group followed the same procedure, this time with the Mk. II. Once again the vehicle lifted into the sky. 

"'Bout time." Heavy Metal grumbled as the last chopper dropped its lines and began a steady descent to the ground. Suddenly a noise broke over the sound of rotors. The sound of gunfire. Everyone immediately dropped prone and looked for the shooters. The soldiers didn't have to look long. A large group of various Cobra soldiers burst forth from the tree line. The team instantly reacted, those that had weapons left immediately brought them into play. Ripcord quickly shoved Hotseat into the cab of the VAMP and grabbed the captured G-41 from the NCO then tossed the weapon to Covergirl. As he lined up on the Cobras he heard the twin machine guns of the VAMP open up. A cursory glance showed Repeater manning the VAMP's two 7.62mm machine guns. A split second later the sound of the VAMP's weapons was jointed by the sound of one of the M-134 guns from the Chinook, the rotatary barrel 7.62mm machine gun adding its rain of bullets to firefight. Despite the hellish fields of fire insecting the clearing, the CH-47 continued it's descent, seemingly unafraid as it opened it's rear ramp as it neared the ground. 

"Cover me!" Ripcord shouted as he stood and ran off in the direction of the heavy lift line laying in a heap on the ground. Ripcord fired off a few more hasty bursts before he slung his rifle and focused his vision on the hooks laying in the mud. As he ran he started to notice a dull pain starting to enter his side. Great, the stimulant was wearing off. Ripcord slid onto a knee near the hooks. Trying his best to ignore the cracking sound of near misses Ripcord fought the hooks free of the ground and threw the heavy lines over his shoulder before running towards the VAMP. A cursory glance showed him that the CH-47 had just set down and Heavy Metal and Covergirl running towards the ramp, the latter helping Hotseat along the way. Ripcord slid to stop near the bumper of the VAMP and began to attach the first hook to it's lift ring. Ripcord saw Fast Draw move towards his position and quickly shouted out to the young soldier without taking his eyes of the lift ring. "Get back in position! I need you covering my ass! Not hooking lines up!" Ripcord yelled as he moved to the next lift ring. As he went about securing the hook, he noticed Covergirl and a member of the Chinook's aircrew armed with an M-16, leap off of the ramp and use it for cover as they dove prone behind it and began to take shots whenever they could. Another one down. Ripcord headed for the next lift ring, noticing Zap trying to pry the Columbian kid away from the VAMP where the young boy had a white knuckled grip on the vehicle's steering wheel. As Ripcord worked on the third ring, he sworn he heard "Long Tall Sally" playing over the sounds of gunfire, rotors, and the kid's screaming. He shook himself mentally, this wasn't the time for a mental breakdown. With the third secured, Ripcord quickly moved to the forth lift ring. As he started working the last one he heard the twin guns on the VAMP stop suddenly. 

"Shit! Dry!" Repeater hissed. Ripcord saw the big Ranger leap off of the back of the vehicle. Repeater then ran to the driver's side of the VAMP and almost forcefully pulled the hysterical boy away from the steering wheel before scooping the kid up in one arm, as he ran for the Chinook, his Colt Python firing away in the other. Finally Ripcord heard the click of the last hook securing. 

"Zap, Fast Draw, Wolfe, head for the chopper!" Ripcord yelled out. 

"Not without you amigo!" Zap retorted. 

"That is where I'm headed! I'll bring up the rear!" Ripcord'd shot back. Seemingly satisfied the trio took off in a loose column for the CH-47, firing off the occasional burst, not noticing that Ripcord still knelt on the 'safe' side of the VAMP. The paratrooper reached down to his ALICE gear and withdrew a grenade. Ripcord pulled the pin free and threw the grenade into the tree line. Even as the explosion sounded and a fountain of dirt flew up, he withdrew another and did the same. As he reached for a third, he saw his team catching on. They had to cool this LZ down a little before they could safely liftoff. Fortunately each member had plenty of anti-personnel grenades left. Soon the tree line came alive as the dull explosion of grenades filled the air, each Joe emptying every one of the their grenades into the jungle. As Ripcord threw his last grenade he stood and sprinted in the direction of the Chinook, firing wildly into the tree line as he went. The others started piling in and the CH-47 began to lift off of the ground about three feet, it's starboard gunner still putting down a field of suppressive fire. With a final leap Ripcord landed on the ramp and was pulled in by Repeater and Covergirl as the Loadmaster began to raise the ramp. Before the ramp had barely started to close, the big helicopter shot into the sky and sped away from the clearing. Ripcord watched the clearing disappear, his eyes transfixed on the rising smoke and strewn bodies below. He kept staring at the same spot, even as the ramp closed, the image of the clearing burned into his mind. 

"Holy shit, Ripcord." Covergirl said in awe from behind him, breaking his daze, "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay." Ripcord said as he turned and passed his gaze over the rest of his team, taking stock of each individual. Zap, Fastdraw, and Repeater were all gathered in one corner trying to get the hysterical kid to calm down and offering what they could to comfort him. Wolfe was busying himself with tending to Hotseat who lay stretched out on a section of the cargo helicopter's web seating. Finally there was, Heavy Metal who sat off by himself, not saying a word and keeping his eyes downplayed. "How's everyone else?" Ripcord asked, despite seeing them all himself. 

"Accounted for and fine." Covergirl said, taking a look around for herself. She then let a small smile play at the corners of her mouth as she looked back at Ripcord. "Could you have possibly cut that a little closer?" 

"I doubt it." Ripcord responded as a slight spasm passed through his torso and a wince played on his face for a brief moment. The combat stimulant was leaving his system quicker than he'd thought. He carefully made his way to a nearby section of the CH-47's web seating and eased himself down into it. Covergirl followed him and took a knee next to him, putting a hand gently on his ribs and looking into his eyes. 

"Wearing off?" She asked.

"Yeah," Ripcord nodded slowly, "The stim' is startin' to dry up." 

"Thought you might've used it." She said, dropping her head in the process, "Heard it might be kind of bad, coming down, can I," She started but faltered for a brief moment. "Do you need anything?" Ripcord let out a small laugh before the he winced from the pain. 

"Sleeping for about a month sounds nice." He kidded. He saw her bite her bottom lip but she still managed to muster a warm smile. 

"You'd deserve it. Anything that doesn't involve hibernation?" She returned. 

"I doubt it." He said with a shake of his head, "At least not till we get back to The Pit and the docs take a look at it." He paused and let out a heavy exhale, "Hopefully it won't be too bad." A small smile then crossed his face as he continued "Once again, thanks Courtney." 

"No." She stated with a shake of her head, "Thank you, Wally." She her slid into the web seating next to him and leaned in whispered in his ear, "For being Superman." Ripcord smiled at the comment and placed his hand on top of hers. 

"Actually I do need some help with something." He started, then paused for a long moment before continuing, "How do you tell somebody something when you don't know how they'll take it?" 

"Depends," She started before a small wince crossed her face "Is it bad?" 

"To be honest I don't know." Ripcord responded flatly 

"What?" She asked as a worried looked crossed her face, "Is it your ribs?" 

"No it's not that." He said with a quick shake of his head. 

"Then what?" She asked quizzically, her eyes searching out the answers in his eyes. 

"I don't know quite know to put this," Ripcord started, looking afraid as he faulted his next words, "I....I...." 

"What?" She asked in a hurried tone, his fear worrying her. 

"I think I love you." He spat out in a swift sentence. 

"Wha.... what?" She faltered, her eyes softening and a small smile washing over her face. However she just as quickly looked down. "Tell me again, when..." She faltered at first before continuing, "Tell me when you don't still have the drugs in you, all right?" 

"Trust me, judging from the pain, there's not a drop left." Ripcord responded in a half serious tone of voice. 

"Okay.. " She said, pressing a hand to the side of his face, "Then tell me when you aren't delusional from pain." 

"I will." He responded in a very serious tone of voice. He paused for a moment before he continued, "I just wanted you to know now." He paused again for a brief moment, searching for the right words, "Before anything else happens." Covergirl smiled, leaning her head back against the hull wall, running the back of her hand over her face to catch a lone tear before it ran down her cheek. 

"Like the chopper goes down, and they decide while we're stranded in the jungle, we can wipe out a drug cartel or two using just our knives and sidearms?" 

"Why not, " Ripcord started with a shrug, "They sent us into the complex without warning." Ripcord responded in the same half serious tone as before. 

"No they didn't." She started with a shake of her head, "We're going to get home, and find out none of this ever happened." She looked down for a moment, rubbing her eyes again before looking back into Ripcord's eyes. "But what you said a couple of minutes ago," She started again, faltering through most of her sentence, "That... that did. Just tell me again when we're home, because I think... Wally, I think... me too." 

He closed his eyes, leaning his back against the hull, with a soft smile on his face. She watched him fall asleep while holding his hand, hoping both that he'd heard her, and that he didn't. Things were going to get complicated. They already were complicated, and what about what about what Fast Draw had said? About emotions, and keeping them in check, and besides. what if it just was the pain or the combat stimulant talking? She'd guessed that's what it had to be, what kept him going. The notorious 'combat stimulant' drug. Each of them carried one, she hoped she'd never have to use it. They said it gave you a great adrenaline rush, and could kill about any kind of pain there was Externally, anyway. Maybe the other kind, too, she wasn't sure. She'd seen enough people hyped up on stuff to know the signs Ripcord's sudden shift in attitude, his aggressiveness, but mostly his eyes are what had given it away to her. Satisfied that he was sleeping, she turned her attention to the rest of her teammates. The young boy clung almost frantically to Repeater, keeping one hand locked on the large ranger's collar behind his neck, the other holding the front of his BDU's. Twice Repeater had tried to remove the child, but even with Zap's reassurances, he'd grow hysterical. She noticed him not looking quite as stoic as the boy settled down in his arms still holding fast. Finally, he was calming down, a combination of Repeater's strong arm, Zap's soft 

No te precupes, No te precupes, do not worry and Fast Draw playing 'peek-a-boo' from around his helmet seemed to be working. She had to smile at the three of them. By himself, sat Heavy Metal. Her eyes grew dark, staring at him. Sonuvabitch. He had left his VAMP, which was bad enough, you never, ever leave your vehicle behind, but worse, he'd left Ripcord, opting instead for the safety of the helicopter. Her dark eyes then swung towards Hotseat, as he let out a small yelp. Wolfe had been tending to his wounds. Squeezing Ripcord's hand one more time, she left his side for Hotseat. He was still kneeling to one side of him, Wolfe, still in his Siege uniform. Covergirl focused instead on the injured Sergeant who lay stretched out on the webbing. 

You okay, old man? She asked about his cry, trying to offer a smile. A sleepy eye turned her way. 

He'll be fine Wolfe answered. She swung him an icy gaze. 

Really? Tell me, what year did you graduate med school Wolfe? She asked coldly. He held up his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture, standing up and backing away. She bit her bottom lip. He hadn't done anything wrong that she'd known of it was just he wasn't one of them. 

He's right, I'll be fine, kid. Hotseat choked out, through cracked lips. She held a finger to hers, a 'shhh' gesture, not wanting him to strain himself further. He didn't listen. You kids did good, did real good. She smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Yeah. We kicked some serious ass She said with a smile, rubbing her nails on the front of her BDU then blowing on them, making the old tanker chuckle. His brown eye grew serious. 

I'm sorry I let you down She shook her head. 

Quit it. We all got out, we're all alive, right? No one's let down. You just get some sleep, okay? Just get some sleep. He took her advice on that, nodding and patting her hand before closing his one good eye, the other still swollen shut. Leaving the sleeping sergeant, she glanced over at the team one more time, the young boy now sleeping soundly cradled in Repeater's arm, Zap sleeping himself with one hand on the boy's head, and Repeater, not sure if he was napping or just resting his eyes, his chin resting on his chest. She sat off by herself, near the back of the craft, attempting to run her fingers through her matted, mud-clumped hair. 

Yeah, you look like shit. From Fast Draw. She hadn't heard him walk over, and she sighed heavily as he took a seat next to her. 

She returned. You're still an obnoxious fuck. He smiled, taking a small towel out of his ALICE, handing it to her and making a 'wipe-your-face' gesture. She dropped her head and smirked, thinking back to the first time she'd met the big ape, back in the woods of A10. 

I told you I love it when you talk dirty to me right? He asked, giving her a small shove. She took his towel, wiping her eyes, first, and holding it there for a few seconds. He asked. 

Just tired. She replied, handing it back to him. 

How's the bullet hole, Hotshot? 

Sore. Don't think I forgot about the shot you gave it, little bitch He said, almost playfully. She shook her head. 

Was worried about you making the run. She replied. I didn't have to enjoy it so much that was just the icing. He smiled, running a hand through his blondish hair. 

I knew you cared, Krieger! It's all right. He retorted. Sometimes I like it rough. A little pain can be a good thing She stood before he could finish, heading back over towards her other teammates. 

Good bye, Hotshot She said, flatly. 

C'mon, Courtney just one kiss? Smiling, she shook her head as she continued to walk away. 

Obnoxious Fuck. She sat again by Ripcord, drifting in and out of sleep herself until she heard the voice booming from the head of the cargo bay. She looked up to see the loadmaster grinning broadly. 

Lady and Gentlemen, as we are about to begin our final descent, we welcome you to the five star resort of Howard Air Base, located in the heart of scenic Panama. We ask that you please keep your seat backs and tray tables in their full locked upright position, just in case Grandpa Harper finally turns to dust and crashes this motherfucker on the way down. Thank you for flying Save-Your-Ass-Airlines, and we hope you never have to see us again. She smirked, rubbing a sleepy hand across her eyes before turning to wake Ripcord. It took a few tries, her shaking him gently at first, then, getting worried that perhaps he'd slipped into some sort of coma, she grabbed him a little harder. 

Ripcord? He sprang up, almost as if he'd previously been fighting, grabbing the front of her BDU'sEasy! Easy, it's me She told him, as his muscles began to relax. you okay? He sat back down, wrapping his arms tightly around himself, almost as if he were cold, even though the chopper itself was as stifling as it had been on the ground. 

Yeah, you just startled me is all She shook her head knowingly, not wanting to make it worse. 

She said, simply. Catching the C-5 we got a few minutes to clean up and all, first. He nodded but didn't respond. A young airman directed them towards the billeting area, giving them a half an hour window before the C-5 would be ready to take off. Just enough time for a quick shower, and something to eat. She winced when she saw her reflection in the mirror for the first time, knowing Fast Draw was right. She looked like shit. The smeared black paint aside, her eyes were red and bloodshot, her tangled hair mixed with dried mud. She quickly looked away but smiled. Ripcord had to be high if he said what he did, with her looking like that. Hot water was out of the question. She'd had enough of hot. Besides, cool felt better on the road rash and bruises which covered her left side. She almost felt guilty leaving the shower, wrapping a towel around herself, seeing the huge mess of camo paint and dirt left behind. She'd make sure to do a quick clean on it before leaving. Once again, she took a look in the mirror, not liking what she saw much better. Even cleaned up she looked like shit. Her bloodshot eyes were surrounded by dark circles, overshadowed only by the large-lack-of-sleep bags which formed below them. The deep bruise on her forehead was a dark bluish-black color, a reddish gash dividing it jaggedly, due partly to the pistol handle, and partly to the sniper-bitch. She shook her head. She threw her wet hair back into a lose braid, no longer caring if it rested above or below the shoulders of the fresh BDU's she put on. She took a second to relish the feel of dry fabric next to her skin before she met the rest of her team outside. She'd been the last to arrive, earning yet another derogatory 'female' comment from Fast Draw. 

We're starving out here, Krieger! Don't you think tweezing your eyebrows could have waited? She was going to give him a 'fuck off' comment, but Hotseat beat her to it. 

Lay off, son. Been a long trip for everybody, I think there's been enough fighting, don't you? Fast Draw mumbled something about taking a joke under his breath, but for the most part was quiet. She noticed the Siege, standing next to Ripcord, now wearing BDU's rather than his Crimson uniform, eyeing him warily, heeding Hotseat's words her self. In the distance, she could see Zap, who was giving a lazy piggy back ride to his new friend. 

He introduced him as. Miguel, Se llama Covergirl, Covergirl, se llama I mean, this is Miguel. She shook hands with him, smiling at his resilience. He didn't seem happy, but he did seem content with Zap, offering a smile here and there as Zap spoke with him in his native tongue. She was almost afraid to eat the hot-cafeteria style food from the mess hall, living off of MRE's for a while tends to throw your system into a shock once it gets real food, but then she remembered, cafeteria food was still not real food. They all chose meals on the lighter side, to be safe. Except Repeater. He and his cast-iron stomach, chose a full meal, complete with a side of tomato soup. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she almost saw him crack a smile as he took the first spoonful. Miguel seemed to eat almost as well as Repeater, once in a while stopping to offer the large soldier something off of his plate. At one point, he put a large hand on Miguel's head for a brief second, but mostly was still the same skulker she knew and trusted. Warm food was almost as good as the dry clothes, almost. Only Ripcord didn't eat, instead picking at the food in front of him. She noticed his hand shaking slightly as he tightly clutched the fork, and as he gulped his third cup of a fruit punch type drink. 

C'mon, Skyboy, didn't your mother ever teach you not to waste food? Fast Draw said, half kiddingly, lifting up part of Ripcord's tray before letting it slam down. Ripcord clenched a fist tighter, as he swung his 'beware' eyes from behind heavy lids towards Fast Draw. He angrily pushed the tray in Fast Draw's direction, giving a quick 

You eat it. through gritted teeth, before grabbing his fourth glass of punch. 

Lay off him She hissed, once he was out of earshot. 

Or what? Fast Draw challenged, leaning back with folded arms. 

nothing. I'm just asking you for once, please just lay off him? Taken off guard, he shot an untrusting look before clearing his and Ripcord's trays. The rest of the team headed out towards the airstrip, she lagged behind a second to wait up for Ripcord, who was taking one final drink. Stuff kind of dehydrated you? She asked. He nodded, making sure his canteen was completely filled for the long flight home. you going to be all right? Once again he nodded, this time, his eyes soft behind the heavy lids. He pointed his finger and nodded towards her forehead, she could figure what he was meaning. She shook her head no then smiled, and shook her head yes, giving it a slight rub, and rolling her eyes. Yeah, it hurts, I got hit with the back of a pistol, of course it hurts! He managed a weak smile as well, before the two of them headed out. They could see the commotion by the C-5. A few new airmen surrounded her team, Zap and Hotseat apparently arguing about Miguel. 

The kid's been through enough! He saw his whole family wiped out, this is insane! 

This is his home, kid Was Hotseat insane? He wanted them to just leave the kid behind? 

No, that was his home! It's no longer there! He's got no one here! 

Listen, I don't like it any better than you do, but you know full well we can't just start collecting people. Inadvertently, her eyes shifted towards Wolfe. 

We got the orders. Think about it son 

There's nothing to think about, Sarge. The kid goes, or I stay, end of story. He said adamantly. She took a deep breath, staring at Zap protectively holding the young boy. She knew how he felt, how it hurt to have to leave someone behind. She knew it wasn't a democracy, it was the military, one person in charge she shook her head. It wasn't right. 

I'm with Zap. She told him. Kid comes. 

Kid comes. Fast Draw echoed. Repeater clamped a large hand down on Zap's shoulder, his show of support. Hotseat turned towards Heavy Metal. 

If it'll get us home kid comes. He agreed. The team shifted their gage towards Ripcord, near sleeping while standing up, leaning against the fuselage of the large C-5. He ground both of his eyes for a second, trying to shake his head to clear the cobwebs. One more shake of his head, and he shrugged. 

"They got a point Top, that kid is more than likely the last survivor of that village. We can't send him back to Columbia; they'd fled the country in the first place. At least wait till we're stateside and social services can find him a good home." Hotseat took a final look around at his team, and shook his head. 

We're going to catch hell for this He muttered, as he climbed aboard the C-5. We're going to catch hell. Ripcord barely made it aboard the big aircraft before he we was out once again, flat on his back, using his LC-2 ruck for a pillow. She'd sat with him for a while, running a hand through his short cropped red hair before sleep started overtaking her as well. She shook her head a few times trying to stay awake, before realizing it was a losing battle. Afraid of again falling asleep too close, she instead stood and headed over towards the VAMPs, running a hand along the banged up surface of the MKII. 

She said softly. Great job back there even with the shorting out. She climbed into the drivers seat, sitting sideways and letting her feet hang over the passenger side. Resting her head against the door frame, she took a last look towards Ripcord and smiled, his warm green eyes the last thing on her mind before falling asleep. 

Colonel Courage sat in his office, tracing the flight of team Jaguar, last of the Wraith Operations to come home. He reread over the reports they had transmitted, and sighed. On one hand, they had been in the field the longest, they'd successfully completed their operation, successfully taken out the radar and ADA of the large Cobra weapons factory. On the other hand, they had engaged the enemy, missed sitereps, and now, for some reason he couldn't understand, a call came in that the team of seven, who when last reported had lost two men, was now returning a team of nine. It was the fact that one of these nine was a young boy which pushed him over the edge. He had sent out the order, the boy was not to leave with them past Howard Air Base in Panama. Yet the pilot of the C-5 reported one of the passengers to be a young boy. They'd deliberately disobeyed a direct order. No matter how successful the mission, it couldn't be tolerated. The only thing he demanded from the people below him was respect, and he'd be damned if some team of seven soldiers would undermine his authority. He buzzed the young MP stationed outside his door into the office, telling him to alert him the minute the team landed from Pope Air Force Base. In the meantime, he busied himself with the team dossiers. They had potential, definite potential. It was just up to him to make sure it was creatively mentored. 

They said good-bye, to Wolfe at Pope Air Force Base, well, most of them, anyway. Ripcord had nodded a quick good-bye gesture as he boarded the UH-60, near immediately falling back asleep as he did so. She had half feared they were going to take him back to the Pit, still thinking of him simply as the Siege. CIA someone had said he was, didn't matter. He wasn't one of them, and he wasn't going home with them. He boarded the small, private Citation V jet which would take him to Langley AFB for debriefing, her eyes warily following him from boarding the jet to take off. 

Fast Draw barked, bringing her back. Would be nice to go home! She shook her head, then jogged back to the awaiting Blackhawk. She took a seat in between Ripcord and Zap, who held fast to a sleeping Miguel. 

"What do you think's going to happen?" She asked, nodding towards the boy. He missed what she was implying. 

"Well, we're going to get back.... Ripcord would have been in some sort of training accident down at Benning. Hotseat, he probably got mugged. You, amiga..." He smiled. "Next time someone says duck, you duck..." She smiled back, nodding. "And Fast Draw..." he shrugged. "Was bound to happen sooner or later, someone's daddy put a bullet in him." 

"No, I mean with Miguel..." She said, still smiling. He shook his head. 

"No se." He said, looking at the sleeping boy, brushing a few strands of hair from his forehead. "I really don't know." 

"Sir? Jaguar is approaching, ETA about 10 minutes." The young M.P. known simply as 'Law' informed him. Courage simply nodded, not looking up from the finally dossier he was reviewing. He checked his watch. Ten minutes. He'd be waiting. They climbed out of the UH-60 perhaps even more tired then when they'd first started home, muscles now stiff and achy, bodies weary from jet lag, seeing the proverbial light at the tunnel... they were home. They didn't expect the light to be an oncoming train named Colonel Courage. He stood on the apron, literally ready to pounce as he watched seven soldiers and one young boy climb out of the Blawkhawk onto the tarmac. The female specialist Covergirl was the first to notice his lurking. 

Sorry, sir, she said, throwing up a lethargic salute. Didn't see you there. The others followed suit, not noticing Courage didn't return a single one. 

He said aloud, causing them to stop gathering their gear from the craft. 

Hotseat enquired, steadying himself against Heavy Metal. 

So this is Jaguar He began, slowly walking up and down in front of them, eyeing them one at a time. They stood still, half out of curiosity, half out of disbelief. I feel I should congratulate you, Jaguar." He emphasized the team name, almost disdainfully. "You had a long and difficult assignment, it seems..." She fought the urge to wipe a weary eye as he droned on. Couldn't this wait? She must have mumbled the last part aloud, because he was on her in a second. I'm sorry, Specialist, what was that? He asked putting a hand to his ear. She controlled herself from rolling her eyes, knowing that would only make it worse. 

Meaning no disrespect, Sir, we have three men in need of medical attention, and you're right, the assignment was long 

Do you think I have nothing better to do? He challenged. She didn't answer. Do you think I come out to the tarmac often, just to greet returning troops? 

No sir. She said, defeated. 

Then if it's quite all right with you, Krieger, I'd kind of like to continue. Unless of course, you'd like to buck for another smudge on your permanent record back at Knox? She didn't respond. I thought so. He continued. Now, as I was saying, Jaguar. I know you've had a long and difficult assignment. And though that would explain why your judgment was so clouded, it sure as hell doesn't excuse it, does it? The team remained silent. Best to let him blow up, get it over with and out of his system, then let him huff away. I was willing to overlook certain things.. I was willing to overlook the fact that despite the fact that this was a reconnaissance assignment, you still took it upon yourselves to engage the enemy prematurely...." Was he kidding? Cover Girl's thoughts screamed. Engage the enemy? Shit we did everything to avoid the enemy! "I was willing to overlook the fact that your sitereps were pitiful, to say the least. But this... this is a gross example of insubordination and disobeying direct orders. Normally, I'd give you a few minutes to explain your actions but you... you soldiers, and I use the term very loosely don't deserve to take up my time. Let me tell you what I see here... I see before me seven screw ups..." He gave them yet another once over before continuing. Seven individuals with absolutely no respect for authority. Let me be the first to inform you that I for one, have no intention of tolerating any sort of rogue force on this team, which means that you had better damn well learn to tow the line...." He stopped short in front of Hotseat, still leaning slightly on Heavy Metal. The bastard had to see how bad off he looked yet he still was giving him a hard time. I read your file. Career man, correct? He turned his back before Hotseat could answer, continuing his tirade. Do you understand the term Direct Order? Were you or were you not given such a direct order when it came to returning with the child? Do you think we're running a day care center, Sergeant? He wasn't letting up, wasn't giving Hotseat the chance to answer even. I can have your retirement for this. Did you think about that... or did you even think at all He noticed Ripcord glaring at him from the corner of his eye, turning his attention to the ragged looking specialist standing to the right of the NCO. Is there something you want to say, Specialist? He asked coldly. 

"With all due respect, sir. Ripcord grumbled. Lay the hell off." 

"Lay the hell off.... " He repeated, slowly, this time circling behind Weems. "I could. Or I could remember that this is a military unit, and is supposed to act accordingly, couldn't I Specialist? Do you think that's too much to ask for?" Ripcord kept his eyes forward, but raised his voice. 

"That's a negative sir, but we've been humping through a jungle for a week. We've almost forgotten what it's like to NOT be hot, tired, and hungry. We're wounded and spent, mentally and physically. I think this one time, military protocol would survive a bending." 

Oh, I see. " He said, condescendingly. "That's right. You deserve special treatment, I'd forgotten. You'll forgive me for not rolling out the red carpet. What you call 'bending', I call a complete and total lack of respect for authority, unacceptable in any instance, don't you agree? Ripcord narrowed his eyes and stared at Courage. Covergirl and the rest of the team holding their breathes collectively. 

"I think your full of shit. She let her jaw drop, not quite expecting that. He hesitated a second before continuing, defensively. What? You're gonna bust me down? Throw a few Article Fifteens at me? How's a guy who commands nothing but a desk at the Pentagon gonna shake down a special instructor at Benning?" 

"How? Congratulations, son, you just bought yourself your first black mark down there in Fort Benning." The colonel circled one more time, stopping directly in front of Ripcord, staring hard. He stood just inches from him, cap brims near touching. "Seems like you took it upon yourself to strike an officer... how do you think that's going to look on your permanent record?" His eyes still narrowed, he stared directly into the Colonel's, stating flatly: 

"Well if that'll go on my record then I'll take advantage of it." Oh shit. She wasn't sure if she'd said it aloud or not, but she knew it was coming. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ripcord's fist flashed out landing a devastating blow square on the side of Courage's face. The colonel fumbled backwards into the Blackhawk, using the vehicles hull to keep himself from falling. She couldn't help but smile. She began to pick up her remaining ALICE gear from the ground, staring at Ripcord. 

She said shaking her head. I'm sure glad that didn't just happen. She emphasized the word 'that,' still giving half a smirk, which Ripcord returned. 

What didn't happen, Amiga? Zap asked, smiling himself as he picked up Miguel. 

Thought I might have heard something From Fast Draw, as he cracked his neck. But I guess not, Skyboy. What says you, Heavy Metal? He didn't verbally respond, instead shaking his head and casting his eyes downward. Hotseat as well shook his head. 

We'll discuss He stared over at Courage, and changed his mind. I mean, not having the ability to think would also cloud my ability to remember. The team fell silent, looking towards Repeater who still wore that same damned expression. 

He replied after a second of silence. I ain't seen shit. The team half choked/half laughed, as Courage finally regained his bearing. 

This is bullshit! This is just bullshit! He repeated, looking to the lone MP She cursed under her breath. They were busted for sure. Goddammit, Law, I want him arrested 

For what, Sir? Law asked, innocently. You really should be more careful. This tarmac does get kind of slippery when wet." Turning towards the team, he added: "Come on, let's get your wounded to the infirmary, the rest of you can report for debriefing 

You aren't going to get away with this! He called after them, as they dragged themselves away from the Blackhawk and towards the central complexesMark my words! She'd grabbed some of his ALICE gear as well as her own, seeing him visibly shaking a bit harder, coming down from the combat stimulant. She knew the withdrawals had a lot to do with what had just taken place, or rather, not taken place, but some of it had been him, too. He placed a hand around her shoulder, her fighting wincing as his fingers touched her battered arm, the gesture far outweighing the slight twinge of pain it caused. She could feel him lean on her slightly, and said nothing, as she walked him behind the others towards the infirmary. 

"I don't think I'm gonna miss being respectable in the eyes our dear Colonel." He said, sarcastically. 

"I don't think you have a choice." She told him. "Seeing as you didn't just deck him and all." She could hear her teammates up ahead, talking about it themselves. 

"Aww, Colonel fall down go boom." from Fast Draw, followed by a quick.. 

"No big loss to me." From Zap. 

"C'mon people, let's drop it. It was a disgusting display." Hotseat chastised. After a brief moment, he added..."You should've used the upper cut, kid." 

Never been part of a rogue force before. She quipped, as they reached the infirmary doors. He shook his head. 

You think it will stick? He asked. She looked at the motley looking crew ahead of her Hotseat, the father figure, Fast Draw, the obnoxious fuck, Heavy Metal the whiner, Repeater, the watcher, Zap the saint, and turned back to Ripcord, the superman. She nodded. She was sure it would stick. 


End file.
